h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today has been brought to you, Sesame Street stylee, by the letter S and the number 2.

There was a lot of cloud this morning, but no rain, and a stiff breeze blew a gap in the clouds so I could see the Space Station pass overhead.

I made my breakfast. I like one whole egg and one egg white, so max gets the spare yolk. But thus morning I had a double Yolker, so the dogs got one each.

When I'd had my car cleaned yesterday, they unearthed a £2 coin, so I decided to by a euro millions ticket. And when I lifted the coin from the little holder, I found another one underneath.

Dusty Springfield came on the radio, after I'd been listening to her yesterday.

We were invited to a party in the Sunflower lounge, and on the decks was Terri Hooley, a local musical legend whose story was told in the film Good Vibrations .

I've never seen the Space Station -- not that I would know what to look for.

I've never found an egg with two yolks. Are they supposed to be lucky?

[Amy P]

You can find "spot the station" guides to tell you when and where to look. It orbits the earth every 90 minutes, so it's surprisingly easy to see it. The main factor is clear skies and little light pollution.

Did you see the picture of Antarctica?

Question: The International Space Station is currently passing over the western coast of South America, so how can it be visible from points in England? Very few celestial objects are visible in both the north and south hemispheres.

http://iss.astroviewer.net/

Ah. I was about to answer that, and three sentences into my answer I realised I was making a classic schoolboy physics error.

Because one orbit lasts around 90 minutes, and the orbit is at an angle across the globe.