Stargazing: Look aloft for Chinese station on Friday

Tiangong (literally: "Heavenly Palace") is a space station program of the People's Republic of China. Designed as a third-generation space station, Tiangong will be built into a large space station around 2020. With the ISS due to be retired at the same time, Tiangong will become the premier space dock.

Tonight, the first element of that program, Tiangong 1, will pass overhead. Tiangong 1 serves as both a manned laboratory and a demonstration of automated rendezvous and docking capabilities. It is 34 feet long, 11 feet in diameter with a mass of 8 metric tons (18,000 pounds).

Launched on Sept. 29, 2011, Tiangong 1 has finished its operational lifetime, but still remains in orbit. Tiangong-1 was visited by three Shenzhou spacecraft. First the unmanned Shenzhou 8 docked with the module in November 2011. Then the manned Shenzhou 9 mission visited in June 2012. Finally Shenzhou 10 docked in June 2013. China's first female astronauts were part of the missions: Liu Yang on Shenzhou 10 and Wang Yaping on Shenzhou 9. The name Shenzhou may be translated as Divine Ark or Divine Vessel.

To see the Tiangong-1 module, get outside at about 8:30 p.m. EDT. The sky is still a bit bright with twilight but is darkening. Brilliant Venus is in the west, with Jupiter higher to the left. Near the horizon, you should be able to make out Betelgeuse below Venus. The Tiangong-1 will rise at 8:37 in the west-northwest about 25 degrees north of Betelgeuse. The brightest star, Sirius, is about 25 degrees south of Betelgeuse, also on the horizon, so you can jump left from Sirius to Betelgeuse and hop an equal amount to the left to see where the satellite will rise.

Risings are often difficult to observe. The satellite will be dimmer, down in the atmosphere, and possibly behind a house. So if you don't spot it at first, watch above Betelgeuse itself where Tiangong-1 will pass at 8:40. It should be about magnitude 2.4, fairly bright.

Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Procyon make up the Winter Triangle, and Procyon is the highest one, forming the apex of an equilateral triangle based on Sirius and Betelgeuse. Tiangong-1 will pass Procyon at 8:41. From there it slides along under the long string of stars known as Hydra, the Sea Serpent. Just before setting in the SSE, Tiangong-1 will pass from view as it enters the Earth's shadow.

Keep an eye on the spread between Venus and Jupiter as it shrinks dramatically over the next weeks, leading to a planetary conjunction at the end of June.

Mr. Badger is Project Coordinator at the Eastern Florida State College Planetarium in Cocoa. Send questions, suggestions, or comments to badgerb@easternflorida.edu

AT THE PLANETARIUM

Friday

7 p.m. The Planets

8:15 p.m. Antarctica (IMAX)

9 p.m. Led Zeppelin Laser Experience

Saturday

7 p.m.Kid's Night — WSKY: Radio Station to the Stars

8:15 p.m. The Living Sea (IMAX)

9 p.m. Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon"

Wednesday

2 p.m. WSKY: Radio Station to the Stars

3:15 p.m. The Living Sea (IMAX)

Check out the available public schedule online at http://www.calendarwiz.com/planetarium, including times, show titles and descriptions. The lineup always starts with an astronomy show followed by an IMAX movie. You may also call the box office at (321) 433-7373 to hear the latest schedule information and prices.