Int'l Space Station to make a 7-minute pass over Charlestown tonight

Hopefully, you'll get to see it

By Will Collette

Seven minutes. That's how long it takes to travel our night sky from end to end if you're flying in the International Space Station (ISS). 

That passage will begin at 5:10 PM at 10 degrees above the horizon in the west-northwest an hour after sundown. The ISS will rise to 61 degrees or about 2/3's up the sky and continue onwards until it disappears at 5:17 at 10 degrees about the horizon in the southeast.

Hopefully, you'll have a chance to see it. The National Weather Service forecast is not great, despite today's sunshine, calling for some clouding up and perhaps a little spritz of snow. But maybe we'll get lucky.

Last night there were a number of reports of other sightings in our night sky on the Nextdoor blog for our area. At around 5:50 PM, low on the horizon, a string of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites paraded across the sky. 

Astronomers hate the disruption caused by Musk's satellite swarm on scientific observation, but as we've all come to learn, Musk scarcely gives a f**k.

"Melissa D" posted this snap → taken by her son showing Musk's cosmic choo-choo overhead. 

Here is the text of the e-mail I received from NASA last night to notify me of the chance for a sighting:

Time: Tue Dec 03 5:10 PM, Visible: 7 min, Max Height: 61°, Appears: 10° above WNW, Disappears: 10° above SE

NASA, the National Weather Service and NOAA have an uncertain fate once Donald Trump takes office. They will undoubtedly face serious cuts. 

Under Trump's Project 2025, NOAA and the National Weather Service may be abolished, no doubt replaced by Trump going on TV and drawing the weather on a map with his Sharpie®. 

Elon Musk has no love for NASA, except for their contracts. Maybe he'll buy it...Trump would certainly give him a good price.