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Just saw space station fly over...

iSaint

iSaint

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 26, 2004
5,225
2
South Mississippi y'all, near the water!
Heaven's Above is a great web site that gives you satellite and astronomy data specific for your location. I checked the site for tonight, and I just took my kids outside to watch the space station fly over. It takes about 3-4 minutes to go across the sky, and looks like a bright planet. Kinda cool...
 
iSaint said:
Heaven's Above is a great web site that gives you satellite and astronomy data specific for your location. I checked the site for tonight, and I just took my kids outside to watch the space station fly over. It takes about 3-4 minutes to go across the sky, and looks like a bright planet. Kinda cool...
Click to expand...

Very cool iSaint. That must have been a neat site seeing the space station fly overhead.
 
That's neat. I just went outside to see if I could see it, but nothing. I think I've seen it before, or it could have been a satellite.
 
Cool! The other day(night) i noticed a few lights that were certainly not shooting stars floating around up there, including one that both moved and stopped moving, making me wonder if it was the shuttle. the thought that it could be people up there making that tiny light is pretty cool :) Thanks for the linkage!
 
MentalFabric said:
Cool! The other day(night) i noticed a few lights that were certainly not shooting stars floating around up there, including one that both moved and stopped moving, making me wonder if it was the shuttle. the thought that it could be people up there making that tiny light is pretty cool :) Thanks for the linkage!
Click to expand...

there is no shuttle in space right now...


the space station is visible even from DC at certain times, so it's very easy to spot. just have to wait until it's high enough in the sky
 
Heavens Above is a fantastic website, ive used it to spot the space station many times. Don't forget to look our for the iridum satellite flares too.
 
gwuMACaddict said:
there is no shuttle in space right now...


the space station is visible even from DC at certain times, so it's very easy to spot. just have to wait until it's high enough in the sky
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oops... i'd heard that it was due to take off but hadn't found out it never did. what's the latest news?
 
MentalFabric said:
oops... i'd heard that it was due to take off but hadn't found out it never did. what's the latest news?
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Still delayed. There was (is) a window of opportunity for takeoff that isn't very long. I'm not sure what that window is, but if it doesn't go soon it goes in September.

EDIT: 500th POST I'd like to thank the Academy, and everyone who supported me in my time here. I hope to continue to be a participating member who has something, however little, however helpful, to offer. peace out!!!
 
Well, the reason you see the space station isn't because they have too many 100watt bulbs turned on ;)

You see it because the solar sails, as well as the station its self is reflecting the suns light back to earth. There for I'm sure there are areas of the earth where the ISS can be seen from the streets of NY, while even some middle of nowhere places may not be able to catch a bright glimpse.

In the times that I've watched the ISS go over, it's normally faded from the sky before it reached the horizon.

~Earendil
 
iSaint said:
Still delayed. There was (is) a window of opportunity for takeoff that isn't very long. I'm not sure what that window is, but if it doesn't go soon it goes in September.

EDIT: 500th POST I'd like to thank the Academy, and everyone who supported me in my time here. I hope to continue to be a participating member who has something, however little, however helpful, to offer. peace out!!!
Click to expand...
thanks! I hope they manage to get it up soon, it's been quite a while… it's beginning to look like they're just (pretty much) going to wait for the next generation of spacecraft!
congrats on the avatar post! :)
 
yeah satellites are pretty bright, the shuttle (when it is up there) brighter than most. Sometimes you can see satellites in the wide blue daytime too, it's crazy.

Thanks a lot for the URL, I'll be sure to be taking a look at it... Might beat using Starry Night.
 
Santaduck said:
yeah satellites are pretty bright, the shuttle (when it is up there) brighter than most. Sometimes you can see satellites in the wide blue daytime too, it's crazy.

Thanks a lot for the URL, I'll be sure to be taking a look at it... Might beat using Starry Night.
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I find different uses for each...

I have an old version of Starry Night that runs on Classic. It's pretty cool but I wish I could afford a newer version. Also, Classic doesn't shut down after I close Starry Night so I have to do it manually. But that's another thread for another day (and has been discussed in the Tiger forums).
 
iSaint said:
Heaven's Above is a great web site that gives you satellite and astronomy data specific for your location. I checked the site for tonight, and I just took my kids outside to watch the space station fly over. It takes about 3-4 minutes to go across the sky, and looks like a bright planet. Kinda cool...
Click to expand...
That's great - unfortunately there's no pass in the next 10 days over London, but there is a Keyhole going over me at 22:17 tonight. I'll have a look and wave at Uncle Sam :p
 
gwuMACaddict said:
eh?

i've seen it fly over from downtown washington dc...

:confused:
Click to expand...


So have I - if you get it at the right time of the night, around just after sunset, it can be quite cool and a brighter star than anything else out there (except the planets).

I haven't seen it when the Shuttle or Soyuz has been docked, but its supposed to be even brighter.

I also managed to see MIR a couple days before it went down from a park along the Potomac in Old Town Alexandria - so its not hard to see these things in a big city.

D
 
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