One of the cool things one can do when the sky is clear when you are 
out in the country and away from man-made lights is to view the stars and 
large man-made satellites. There are several objects that are in orbit but
some are low in the sky as seen from 36 N latitude. The brightest objects are 
the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle, the Hubble Telescope.  

         TIMES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND SHUTTLE.

The ISS will now be brighter because they have attached a Japanese Lab module.
The volume of the ISS has increased over 40%. It is the size of a 10,000 square foot 
home with a 10 foot ceiling.  Both the ISS and Shuttle will be together until the end 
of their mission. When they separate, one may be able to see both as distinct objects.
Below are the times when they will be visible from western North Carolina and upper 
East Tennessee: 

  Date       Time(ET)        Direction      Time Visible       Max Elev

20 July(Su)   4:35 AM          NW-->ESE         5 Min           51 Deg

21 July(M)    9:22 PM         WSW-->NNE         5 Min           36 Deg

(Note: These visibility times are extracted from the NASA Sightings web site.)

    If you want to obtain visibility times for the ISS at a different location 
check out the following site: 
 NASA SPACEFLIGHT SITE 
   

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								06-03-08