The International Space Station will put in a few spectacular appearances in Hawaii skies in the coming days, if the clouds cooperate.

At 8:16 tonight, the space station will rise in the southwest and arch to the right, passing over Venus before blinking out at 8:19 p.m.

An even brighter and longer pass will happen on Tuesday, when the space station will rise in the southwest about 7:29 p.m. It will head up toward the top of the sky, passing between Orion the Hunter, distinguished by the three stars in his belt, and his faithful dog, Canis Major, home to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. The three stars point to Sirius at left.

It will then side-swipe Gemini before setting in the northeast, very near the Big Dipper, at about 7:34 p.m.

For early risers, there are other viewing opportunities, which can be found at heavens-above.com.

Conference to focus on indigenous issues

The Hawaii chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is devoting its upcoming regional conference this month to reporting on indigenous issues.

The regional conference will feature Native American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander presentations, as well as a debate contest on whether major news outlets should take significant steps to change how they gather and report news that concerns indigenous communities.

Hands-on training sessions include the use of Google, Facebook and Instagram, digital sleuthing on deadline, fighting “fake news” and copyright issues with photographs.

There will also be discussions on the Hawai‘i Journalism Resource and Style Guide, and whether the nonprofit model can work for the future of news.

Networking opportunities are also available with students and professionals from SPJ Region 11, which includes Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and the Mariana Islands.

The conference is scheduled for March 20-21 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus.

The Hawaii chapter of SPJ stands for a free press and news media protections, urges open government and transparency, and supports journalism education through internships funded by its popular, biennial Gridiron show.