International Space Station crosses over northern skies in Oman

Muscat: The International Space Station crossed over the northern skies of the Sultanate on Wednesday.

Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, head of the Crescents Observation Department, in the Astronomical Affairs Department of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and a member of the Board of Directors of the Oman Astronomical Society, spoke exclusively with Times of Oman, “Today evening at 6:53 pm, the International Space Station crossed over the northern skies of the Sultanate, which can be seen as a bright star, it moves from the southwest to the northeast.”

Al Mahrouqi confirmed, "The International Space Station revolves around the Earth about 16 revolutions a day, with a speed of approximately 27,600 km/h and it can be seen in the skies of the Sultanate after sunset or before dawn because it reflects the sun's rays where the observer's location is dark and the space station is at an altitude of approximately 420 km from the surface of the earth so the sun is reflected from its solar panels and therefore appears as a bright and shining star."

He added, "It is not possible to determine the time of its passage automatically because where the International Space Station sometimes adjusts its path down or up, so the timing of its passage changes, and it can be known when it will pass over the sky of the Sultanate through the ISS Finder application, International Space Station Finder, on smartphones so then everyone can know the space station passage time over the skies of all countries around the world, including the Sultanate of Oman.”