CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The International Space Station will be passing over Central Virginia on Wednesday and will be visible around 8:30 p.m.

Due to the way the orbit of the ISS is oriented, the station passes by once every few months traveling southwest to northeast, then again, a few weeks later, traveling northwest to southeast, UVA Department of Astronomy Professor Edward Murphy told Cville Right Now in an email.

He added the current set is the southwest to northeast passes.

To see the station, Murphy suggested going outside at around 8:25 p.m., a few minutes before the pass begins, and facing southwest. The station will appear very low in the southwest starting at around 8:31 p.m. before moving straight upward. the station will appear like a giant moving star in the sky.

The station will nearly straight overhead at around 8:34 p.m. before disappearing into the northeast around 8:37 p.m.

When the ISS is overhead, it will be about 260 miles away and traveling 17,400 miles per hour. The station is 356 feet end-to-end, making it just one yard shy of the length of an American football field, including the end zones, according to NASA’s website.

The station was first launched into orbit in November 2000 and has been in constant orbit since. Every 24 hours, the station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets.

Currently, the station is occupied by seven astronauts; three from NASA, three from Russia and one from Europe.