People in southeastern Harris county will have an opportunity to see a solar transit by the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 15th, at precisely 9:05 AM. The 6.2-mile wide visibility path includes the communities of Cataula, Ellerslie, Waverly Hall, and Shiloh.
WARNING – Viewing the sun without eye protection can cause serious eye injury or blindness. Do not look at the sun without solar glasses (aka eclipse glasses) and do not attempt to watch a solar transit without having a solar filter attached to the front of optical aids like binoculars, camera lenses, and telescopes.
People just to the south of the center line may be able to see the ISS pass over a sunspot that is currently rotating into view.
Morning and evening transits do not present the best views of the ISS since it is far from the observer and there is quite a bit of atmosphere to look through. The angular size of the ISS for the transit Tuesday morning will only be 35 arc seconds. Using a telescope, this is just big enough to resolve some detail like the core infrastructure and solar panels. A better pass is coming up on June 27th when the ISS will transit during the noon hour and the angular size will be 63 arc seconds. That is big enough to resolve the individual modules, radiator panels, and docked spacecraft.
Note: The information above is accurate at the time of this post. However, due to the dynamic orbit of the ISS, the information is subject to change prior to the event. Please visit the ISS Transit Finder website for the most up-to-date information for your specific location.