Space station to be visible tonight

The biggest man-made object ever to be sent into space will be visible tonight and every night until Monday as the International…

The biggest man-made object ever to be sent into space will be visible tonight and every night until Monday as the International Space Station (ISS) makes its way north.

The ISS, which is an internationally developed research facility, will be visible at 5.23pm this evening for about a minute. According to Astronomy Ireland, it will appear as a bright star-like object and will be the most visible object in the sky apart from the moon.

"It is amazing to think that as the bright object zooms across our sky, people will be inside working on it as it flies - absolutely incredible," said Astronomy Ireland chairman David Moore.

The first two modules of the International Space Station were launched and joined together in orbit in 1998 with the first crew arriving to spend time aboard the station in 2000.

It is scheduled for completion in 2011 and will remain in operation until at least 2015.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist