Weather permitting Utahans across the state have several chances to see space shuttle Endeavour this week.

According to NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah Patrick Wiggins, Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station the afternoon of Monday the 25th. Together the two will brighter than any star in the nighttime sky and easily visible to the naked eye.

Once joined together the two ships will have a combined crew of 10 people.

Those in the southern part of the state will have the first, albeit poor, chance to see the joined craft Tuesday evening, low in the southwest between 7:18 and 7:20 p.m.

Wednesday evening brings the first of 6 passes that should be visible across the whole of Utah when the two rise in the southwest about 6:20 p.m., pass about 1/4 of the way up the southeastern sky about 6:25 and then fade from view as they pass into the shadow of the Earth, low in the east about 1 minute later.

Thursday has the two rising in the southwest about 6:58 and fading into the Earth's shadow about half way up the western sky at 7:03.

Friday evening, the 29th, Endeavour and ISS will rise in the southwest about 6:01, climb to a point about half way up the southeastern sky at 6:06 and fade from view low in the east about 6:07.

Saturday they'll rise in the southwest about 6:39, reach about half way up the northwestern sky at 6:44 and fade from view low in the north about one minute later.

Sunday could bring the best pass of the week as they rise in the southwest at 5:41 p.m., soar high overhead at 5:46 and set in the northeast at 5:50.

Endeavour is set to undock from ISS early Monday afternoon, the 2nd of December. So by the time the two rise in Utah's southwestern skies that day about 6:19 p.m. they should appear as two separate but bright dots of light chasing each other towards the north where they'll slip into Earth's shadow about 6:25.

The above sighting times could vary by several minutes by mission's end depending on the observer's location. Up to the minute times for any location can be found at http://planet.state.ut.us.

Since the first segment of the station was launched in 1998 ISS has grown to more than 160 tons.

Impressive as this week's passes may be, Wiggins notes that the next shuttle flight, currently set for mid January, could bring an even more exciting sight.

"Not since 1996," says Wiggins, "has a shuttle flown in an orbit like that scheduled for shuttle Columbia in January. That orbit could bring Columbia over central Utah during it's reentry phase, causing it to blaze across the sky from horizon to horizon, looking like the biggest, brightest, multi-colored meteor you've ever seen."