Shooting star? Not quite.

Keep your eyes peeled to the sky this weekend Londoners and you could see the International Space Station pass by, not once, twice, but four times.

While the space station orbits the earth about once every 90 minutes, having it pass over London in the right part of the sky four nights in a row, when the sun's down and the weather is clear, is lucky.

"It looks like a star, but it'll be relatively bright and you'll see it moving appreciably across the sky at a decent speed," said Sarah Gallagher, a physics and astronomy professor at Western University.

The space station, which is about the size of a football field, orbits in a lower ring than other satellites, meaning it'll be the biggest and brightest light in the sky -- an easy target for novice stargazers.

It'll be zooming by London, Friday night at 11:50 p.m., Saturday night at 9:58 p.m. and 11:34 p.m., and Sunday night at 10:39 p.m and takes two to three minutes to cross the sky, according to Gallagher.

Stargazers looking for the best seat in the universe can visit Western University's Cronyn Observatory, open to the public on Saturday nights from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

How to make sure you see it?

E-mail alex.weber@sunmedia.ca, or follow AlexatLFPress on Twitter.

Originally posted here:

Space station visible