Look Up at 1:52 a.m. Monday: It's The International Space Station!

If you stay up long enough Sunday night, into Monday, cast an eye towards the sky and you might catch the International Space Station passing by for a hot minute.  

NASA says you can see the International Space Station orbiting right over Los Altos—for literally one minute, at 1:52 a.m. Monday. 

Space buffs know this, and there are a lot in this valley, with NASA Ames just down the road. No special equipment is needed, and, in fact, says Starry Skies Network, which has these viewing tips, a telescope would be an impediment. NASA's Glenn Research Center posts these tips.

As the third-brightest object in the sky orbiting 250 miles above Earth, NASA promises it is easy to see, if you're fast and know where to look.

So here's where that is. NASA has supplied the following information via "Spot the Shuttle:"

Time: Mon May 27 1:52 AM, Visible: < 1 min, Max Height: 46 degrees, Appears: NE, Disappears: NE

Universe Today has a great beginners' guide to viewing, which explains why you see the station at different times and orientations, and how viewings occur roughly every six weeks.

Who's up there? According to NASA's Space Station site, Expedition 35 just ended with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-07M May 13, and Expedition 36 began. 

Expedition 36, like the Expedition 3, is a joint expedition, whose orbiting crew currently consists of Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy, and Alexander Misurkin.

They will be joined soon by Karen Nyberg (U.S.A.), Fyodor Yurchikhin (Russia), Luca Parmitano (European Space Agency) with the launch of TMA-09 on Tuesday at 4:31 p.m. (EDT) from Kazakhstan.

NASA astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn and Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, returned on the Soyuz TMA-07 May 13 and are back in Houston undergoing rehabilitation after living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Space station news usually doesn't make Patch's morning newsletter because  NASA alerts don't arrive in time. But, if you want direct alerts of when the space station will be orbiting overhead sign up at NASA's "Spot The Station" site, to get email or SMS alerts with 12 hours' notice sent direct to you. 

Commander Chris Hadfield (U.S.A.)