Possible Viewing Opportunity Tonite (May 26) As Int'l Space Stn Zooms Overhead

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(May 26, 2016, 9:43 p.m.) -- Did you see it? Beautiful, clear sky view of the International Space Station as she passed overhead, very bright.

(May 26, 2016, 5:30 p.m.) -- If (stress "if") it stays clear, Long Beach will have a good chance to see the International Space Station as its orbit takes it over the L.A.-LB-OC area just after 9:30 tonight (May 26.)

The National Weather Service forcasts "patchy fog" after 11 p.m...and if the fog rolls in earlier all bets are off. But if it's clear, the spacecraft should be fairly bright as it crosses over our area.

The spacecraft should appear fairly bright as it rises in the SW sky at 9:34:30 p.m., reaches an elevation of 73 degrees high (90 degrees would be straight up) at 9:37:44, and thens head into the NE sky, disappearing at about 9:41:00.

[Scroll down for further.]

Image via Heavens-Above.com

It's a free, teachable moment for the kidlets and an amazing sight at any age. (Tip: Share this article with your Facebook friends; they'll appreciate it; click button:

The photo below shows the basics of the giant spacecraft. It has a mass of roughly 990,000 lbs.

Image via NASA.gov

And the photo below shows its current configuration:

Image via NASA.gov

And here are facts and figures about the International Space Station.

And yes there are real people aboard. They are (from left) Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Mikhail Kornienko, Sergey Volkov, Timothy Peake, Timothy Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko.

Photographer: Robert Markowitz. Photo via NASA.gov