Spot the Station
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.
The station orbits the Earth 16 times per day at a speed of 7 kilometres / second.
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.
This workshop takes place in Parc Lafontaine.
From start to finish, this workshop takes about 45 minutes.
We will start by meeting in Parc Lafontaine. To go begin, I will point out where the space station currently is over planet Earth. Next, we will learn about the construction history of the ISS, then walk around the park to get a sense of the station's size.
Then, we will bring out the smartphone app that tracks that station and learn how to use it to spot the station. A few minutes later, we'll watch it fly overhead.
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.