Heads up!
The International Space Station (ISS) will pass directly over Florida early on the evening of Sunday, October 13th.
Approaching our state from the NW, it will rise on the northwest horizon at 7:09 p.m., although depending clouds, horizon obstructions, sky-clarity etc., you probably won't spot it until around 7:11 or 7:12 p.m., several degrees above the northwest horizon.
As it climbs higher and higher in the sky, it will look like an *extremely* bright white star, with no blinking or colored lights. The closer it gets to "overhead" the faster it will appear to move, although this has everything to do with how far away it is from you... much like a car moving at a fixed speed looks like it's moving faster when it's closer to you than when it's far away.
No matter where you are in Florida it will pass very high overhead a couple of minutes after that--and in fact, along that yellow line (see the image) that runs from the Panhandle down to the Keys, it will appear literally straight up.
From the Tampa Bay area this "maximum height above the horizon" will occur just after 7:14 p.m.
In the Florida Panhandle expect it to reach it's maximum height at about 7:13, and from the Keys, it'll be overhead at 7:15. Which means that at a speed of 17,500 mph--it takes just about 2 minutes to get from Tallahassee to Key West! 😱
The ISS will continue in a straight path towards the southeast where it will disappear from view not quite 3 minutes after it passes overhead.
Enjoy the view... in the Tampa Bay area at least, it should be clear skies tomorrow night, making this very easy to spot with the naked eye!
