Spot the Station

About

Everyday since November 2nd, 2000, there have been humans orbiting the Earth. The International Space Station has been their home, 400 kilometres above our own.

The ISS is a very large satellite, with its solar panels stretching out to the size of a football field. Because of this immense size, light is able to reflect off the space station and shine down on Earth, letting us see it with the naked eye as a bright, moving dot.

International Space Station orbiting Earth.
Image from NASA/Roscosmos

The station orbits the Earth 16 times per day at a speed of 7 kilometres / second.

Workshop Description

In this workshop, we will learn the history of the station, get a sense of its massive size, and how to use a smartphone app to view it flying overhead.

Location

This workshop takes place in the Plateau in Montréal. Usually at either Parc La Fontaine or Parc Jeanne-Mance (look at specific events to find where).

Length

From start to finish, this workshop takes about 1 hour. But I'm happy to stick around to answer some questions or look through the telescope at what's in the sky.

Time of Day

The International Space Station is visible in the early evening after sunset. As the sunset changes throughout the year, this workshop will be held at different times of day.

But as a general rule, this workshop will start as early as 7:00 PM and as late as 9:00 PM.

Age / Prior Knowledge

Everybody is welcome to come; nobody will be turned away.

However, small children may not exactly grasp what is going on as we describe the station and watch it fly overhead.

Upcoming Events

There are no scheduled events for this yet, but there might be a different one coming up. Check out the schedule.