Space Day
Today is a special day. It was 40 years ago today Apollo 11 rocketed off the pad at Cape Canaveral with the intention of making the first attempt to land on the Moon. I just can't think of a greater achievement of the human spirit and human ingenuity than project Apollo. This is a good day to reflect on the pinnacle of humanity's progress so far. And to think about what more could come next?
It's also a rare day to see orbital rendezvous, a technique pioneered by American astronauts during the Gemini program of the mid-60's, in progress. You can actually look up in the sky and see it yourself tonight! The shuttle Endeavor is in a tail chase with the ISS and will dock tomorrow morning. Tonight, they'll be flying close together and are both easily visible to the naked eye on the ground a little after dark this evening in North America.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the best sighting will be about 11:40 p.m - 11:44 p.m. They move very fast, crossing the continent in only a few minutes, and are visible only in the region of Earth that's within an hour or two of sunset or sunrise so sighting times for other regions will be very different. You might even have a better look in your area an orbit earlier (about 90 minutes) than the Northwest.
You can find out when this extra-ordinary opportunity to see an orbital rendezvous occurs in your sky, and where to look for it, on the NASA website here: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html