Space station treat for stargazers

Stargazers will tonight be treated to one more glimpse of the international space station.

The space station, manned by two astronauts Salizhan Sharipov and Leroy Chiao, should be visible in Irish skies at around 6.20pm tonight.

Astronomy Ireland urged people to go outdoors for two minutes to wave goodbye to the astronauts who have blazed across the sky every night for the past week.

David Moore, of Astronomy Ireland, said: “It will look like a very bright star to the naked eye. You won’t mistake it as it is brighter than every other star in the sky, so all you really have to do is go outdoors at 6.20pm and just look around the sky. You’ll see this brilliant object moving slowly from right to left.” he said.

“It’s an amazing sight, and all the more so when you consider its historic importance as mankind’s first real outpost in space.”

“If you know which direction is South, then stand facing that way, but it doesn’t really matter as the international space station is so bright.”

The crew on the multi-billion space laboratory will study the effects of weightlessness on the human body during their six-month tour of duty.

They are also studying plant growth and carry out experiments on possible vaccines against Aids.

Two space walks are also planned during their time in space.

In October the previous crew of Russian cosmonauts Yuri Shargin and Gennady Padalka and US astronaut Michael Fincke landed in Kazakhstan after their six month tour of duty ended.