IF you fancy turning your eyes to the skies this evening, you might just be able to spot a tool bag that’s swinging round in Earth’s orbit.
The tool kit was let loose in space by Nasa astronauts during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) three weeks ago.
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Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara accidentally let go of the bag while conducting repairs on the ageing space post during a nearly seven hour spacewalk on 1 November.
This set of tools have quite literally been all around the world – at about 17,000mph – since astronauts lost grip on them.
Just days after being lost, the bag was pictured by Japanese ISS resident, Satoshi Furukawa, as he flew over Mount Fuji.
The kit is now being monitored by the US Space Force as a new orbital object – or space debris.
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Where and how can I see it?
While the bag is small, it is highly reflective.
But you will need binoculars or a telescope to spot this one.
It will be visible in parts of the UK tonight (21 November), such as south Wales, the Cotswolds and Oxfordshire in early evening.
Later on, it is expected to beeline across North London and over the east coast.
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Depending on the weather, people in southern Britain have the highest chance of viewing the bag between 6.24pm and 6.34pm.
Although, reports say the best time to look for it will be on 24 November, between 5.30pm and 5.41pm.
According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard Centre for Astrophysics, the bag isn’t in stable orbit – so it won’t be visible to humans forever.
It is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a few months, and burn up completely.
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