There are so many things one can do to spend their time productively and peacefully. Just get to your terrace as I did in the wee hours to observe a celestial event in the clear and clean skies. It was a beautiful experience to wake up on a Sunday and run up to the terrace at 5.15 when the birds were chirping and cool winds were wafting on an April summer.
As my gaze flitted from the moon to the southern part of the sky – the clear dark skies beckoned me to keep my gaze still. Suddenly at 5.34 – I witnessed the movement of the International Space Station [ISS] that was literally running away. For three minutes, it was a beautiful spectacle as there was no clouds and the ISS was clearly visible to the naked eyes. Don’t miss this opportunity as once lockdown ends – visibility will go for a toss.
After a very long time we are seeing the sky without the usual smoke or haze. So look at the skies to look at stars, planets and such space events. This is what I did as my friend Manjunath Nayak from Ron, Gadak district in Karnataka had alerted me to take a look at the 21 year old work horse, the ISS which is orbiting the earth everyday 16 times.
Nayak who is a scientist and conservationist told me that many people including star gazers and scientists around the world have been observing the movement of the ISS in the clear skies due to the global Lockdown. In fact, Nayak recently motivated a group of farmers to view this space station which flits like a moving star and is visible for 3-4 minutes.
The ISS was set up in 1998 and has been in the space for the last 21 years. As it orbits the earth 16 times a day, astronauts [who go aboard the station and return to earth after staying for a specific period] witness 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. Wish, I was an astronaut and seeing so many events in a single day.
It is a great opportunity for people to view ISS as with complete lockdown for COVID-19, the air quality has been improving, says Nayak. The clear blue skies can enable people to watch not only stars but also the ISS which moves at an astonishing speed of 17,500 miles per hour. “I was observing updates on Malappuram Amateur Astronomers Society (MAAS) regularly for the last one month. Receiving updates that the ISS was moving in North Karnataka, I informed a very small group of farmers about the space station who evinced keen interest in watching ISS. A week back seven farmers who saw the movement of ISS in the sky from 7.16 pm to 7.24 pm were very happy.”
One of the farmers even asked him whether it was an alien, however, all their queries were answered after the spectacle in the sky. For one of them, Shivayogi it was an unbelievable experience. And he said, “We viewed the ISS and it moved so fast. It looked like a star to us. But when we looked through the camera lens, it looked very clear.” Another farmer Kalakappa said, “It was interesting to see a star like thing moving on. Our only regret is we did not tell our children. People are simply whiling away their time during lockdown, if they too can study or see such new things, they will not get bored. My mind is refreshed.”
Kantha Raj from ISRO informs that ISS is revolving around the earth in its own orbit continuously. He adds, “Periodical direction change can be seen from any part of the world by naked eyes provided the weather conditions are good.”
The beautiful picture of the ISS which you see on www.spottedowlets.com was captured by S Sunilkumar Maralakunte, a photographer. And he says, “The present lockdown is an opportunity to explore the celestial events in the sky. Sitting on our terraces this can be shown to people which will be an amazing experience for all.”
With lockdown prevailing in most of the countries - none of the polluting factories or industries are working while the vehicular movement is minimum. So the sky is clean and clear and the ISS movements can be clearly seen through naked eyes or its images can be captured on a DSLR.
How to view ISS :
On Tuesday and Wednesday early morning, it is visible from Bengaluru. So folks get ready to see it or capture on camera. In fact, NASA lists the time at which the ISS passes over different locations across the world. The US space agency has an exclusive website named ‘Spot the Station’ where one can actually register for getting notifications on the space station’s flight over their towns or cities.
You can also download an app from either the Playstore or Apple store to track the next appearance of ISS over your area.
Download from here:
 |
| ISS as seen through the naked eye |
As my gaze flitted from the moon to the southern part of the sky – the clear dark skies beckoned me to keep my gaze still. Suddenly at 5.34 – I witnessed the movement of the International Space Station [ISS] that was literally running away. For three minutes, it was a beautiful spectacle as there was no clouds and the ISS was clearly visible to the naked eyes. Don’t miss this opportunity as once lockdown ends – visibility will go for a toss.
After a very long time we are seeing the sky without the usual smoke or haze. So look at the skies to look at stars, planets and such space events. This is what I did as my friend Manjunath Nayak from Ron, Gadak district in Karnataka had alerted me to take a look at the 21 year old work horse, the ISS which is orbiting the earth everyday 16 times.
 |
| Image Credit : From ISS time tracker |
Nayak who is a scientist and conservationist told me that many people including star gazers and scientists around the world have been observing the movement of the ISS in the clear skies due to the global Lockdown. In fact, Nayak recently motivated a group of farmers to view this space station which flits like a moving star and is visible for 3-4 minutes.
The ISS was set up in 1998 and has been in the space for the last 21 years. As it orbits the earth 16 times a day, astronauts [who go aboard the station and return to earth after staying for a specific period] witness 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. Wish, I was an astronaut and seeing so many events in a single day.
It is a great opportunity for people to view ISS as with complete lockdown for COVID-19, the air quality has been improving, says Nayak. The clear blue skies can enable people to watch not only stars but also the ISS which moves at an astonishing speed of 17,500 miles per hour. “I was observing updates on Malappuram Amateur Astronomers Society (MAAS) regularly for the last one month. Receiving updates that the ISS was moving in North Karnataka, I informed a very small group of farmers about the space station who evinced keen interest in watching ISS. A week back seven farmers who saw the movement of ISS in the sky from 7.16 pm to 7.24 pm were very happy.”
 |
| Image Credit: From ISS time tracker |
One of the farmers even asked him whether it was an alien, however, all their queries were answered after the spectacle in the sky. For one of them, Shivayogi it was an unbelievable experience. And he said, “We viewed the ISS and it moved so fast. It looked like a star to us. But when we looked through the camera lens, it looked very clear.” Another farmer Kalakappa said, “It was interesting to see a star like thing moving on. Our only regret is we did not tell our children. People are simply whiling away their time during lockdown, if they too can study or see such new things, they will not get bored. My mind is refreshed.”
Kantha Raj from ISRO informs that ISS is revolving around the earth in its own orbit continuously. He adds, “Periodical direction change can be seen from any part of the world by naked eyes provided the weather conditions are good.”
 |
| Image Credit: Sunil Kumar Maralakunte |
The beautiful picture of the ISS which you see on www.spottedowlets.com was captured by S Sunilkumar Maralakunte, a photographer. And he says, “The present lockdown is an opportunity to explore the celestial events in the sky. Sitting on our terraces this can be shown to people which will be an amazing experience for all.”
With lockdown prevailing in most of the countries - none of the polluting factories or industries are working while the vehicular movement is minimum. So the sky is clean and clear and the ISS movements can be clearly seen through naked eyes or its images can be captured on a DSLR.
How to view ISS :
On Tuesday and Wednesday early morning, it is visible from Bengaluru. So folks get ready to see it or capture on camera. In fact, NASA lists the time at which the ISS passes over different locations across the world. The US space agency has an exclusive website named ‘Spot the Station’ where one can actually register for getting notifications on the space station’s flight over their towns or cities.
You can also download an app from either the Playstore or Apple store to track the next appearance of ISS over your area.
Download from here:
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