16/365 Track & Spot the Space Station
Our southwest Florida winters are mild and the sky is clear and spectacular. It’s not only great stargazing weather but did you know that you can also track the International Space Station (ISS) and see it travel across the sky with the naked human eye? It’s true.
I’ve lived in Bonita Springs most of my life and have followed the ISS and tracked it dozens of times. It’s very easy to do. All you have to do is find the schedule of when it is expected to go over Bonita Springs or the surrounding area. On the website you’d get the same time/direction results for Naples, Fort Myers or Bonita Springs, for example.
One of my favorite sites is: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/. You can not only find out when it will be near you but also track it on a live map so that you will understand the trajectory it will take over you. I actually watched it go over today and it was directly over Bonita Springs and bright as can be. There are other times that I have seen it low on the horizon and harder to identify as though it is going over the Florida Keys.
It’s a great activity if you are looking for fun things to do with kids. You can also download the SkyView app to see the stars and constellations.