View Full Version : Clear skies at night, then go satellite watching
Last night it was pretty much cloudless so went out to see if I could spot the International Space Station passing overhead.
It was a lot brighter than I was expecting so it was dead easy to see as it passed from East to West across the sky at just after 10.30pm.
Check on this website for more info:
http://spaceweather.com/flybys/country.php
I've seen that passing over quite a few times. I'll bet there's plenty of people who think they've spotted a UFO! :eek:
It should be visible from where I live at 10:54:37 pm tonight.
OOhh how exciting - 10:28:28pm here - "very bright"
If you look in the right direction it'll be dead obvious. ;)
It says West, I should be able to manage that, I was in the Scouts... :)
Well if you get stuck, it's generally in the direction that the big hot orange thing disappears. ;)
Techno Commander
03-07-2010, 14:27
10.54 here as well. And were having a BBQ tonight so I will already be outside.
I'm now feeling inspired to drag the telescope outside and do a spot of stargazing... haven't done that for a while. :)
I wonder if Saturn is visible tonight...
10.54 here as well. And were having a BBQ tonight so I will already be outside.
Don't get too engrossed with the sausages though, the ISS will only be in the sky for half a minute or so. It'll be the bright thing moving west - east quite quickly! :)
Techno Commander
03-07-2010, 14:36
I have seen it before and was quite surprised how quickly it traversed the sky.
I am sure that by 10.50 I will be engrossed with the beer and that is a whole different proposition. :cool:
Hamish ought to get one of his posh cameras out and see if he can capture a few snaps! ;)
I have seen it before and was quite surprised how quickly it traversed the sky.
It's pretty nippy... average speed of 17,239.2 mph, apparently! :eek:
Ooh... looks like Saturn might be spottable tonight too! :)
Saturn will be in excellent position for observation until at least early July. It reached opposition to the Sun on March 21st, when it was closest to Earth and at its largest and brightest. Although Saturn is now slowly receding from our home planet, it remains visible well after midnight and looks stunning through a telescope.
Look for Saturn high in the southwest after sunset, in western Virgo, just a couple of degrees below Denebola, the second brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. In a telescope Saturn's disk spans 18" across the equator and the rings appear very narrow. They are currently tipped just 1.7° to our line of sight, but they will double their tilt during the next two months.
Apparently theres been a comet around recently too...
Doubt it's visible now though
Comet C/2009 R1 McNaught is now rapidly brightening in the morning sky, as it sweeps from Andromeda past Perseus to Auriga during the month.
Astronomers predict C/2009 R1 McNaught should peak at 5th magnitude or a bit brighter in mid-June, making it bright enough to see with the naked eye under a suburban sky. And even if it does not get quite that bright, it will be an easy target for binoculars and small telescopes.
At the start of the month, Comet McNaught can be found in Andromeda, close to the 2nd-magnitude double star Gamma Andromedae. It passes about 1° north of the open star cluster M34 in Perseus on the morning of June 10th and 3° south of Mirfak (Alpha Persei) on the 13th.
As the comet continues to push northward, it skims just 2° above Capella on the 21st and is very low by the 24th, when it passes 2nd-magnitude Beta Aurigae. C/2009 R1 McNaught will be lost to view by the end of the month - just before it reaches perihelion on July 2nd, 38 million miles from the Sun.
Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught discovered this comet on an image taken on September 9th, 2009. It is approaching on a hyperbolic orbit, which means that it is making its first trip from the Oort Cloud.
http://www.nightskyinfo.com/maps_images/hale-bopp_small.jpg
Well, I couldn't see a thing from here as it's clouded right over... looks like it's going to piss it down quite soon in fact! :(
it was too cloudy here too in the Far East, though I don't think we'll get rain... that's done it!
Techno Commander
04-07-2010, 00:13
I saw it. And it wasnt alone.
Watching come towards us but as it passed overhead and away from us, you could see it was being "shadowed" by another smaller object, which was in front of it and moving at the same speed.
Is there a shuttle up there at the moment?
Steve Toy
04-07-2010, 04:53
Well if you get stuck, it's generally in the direction that the big hot orange thing disappears.
This time of year that is the North West.
I saw it. And it wasnt alone.
Watching come towards us but as it passed overhead and away from us, you could see it was being "shadowed" by another smaller object, which was in front of it and moving at the same speed.
Yes I saw it too. Apparently it's a Russian cargo ship that failed to dock with the ISS because of a computer malfunction, so it's staying in the same orbit until they can sort the problem out.
Techno Commander
04-07-2010, 12:12
Ahh, thats good (that someone else saw it).
Yes I saw it too. Apparently it's a Russian cargo ship that failed to dock with the ISS because of a computer malfunction, so it's staying in the same orbit until they can sort the problem out.
thanks for the 2nd object info - in which case saw it last night. Moves fast!
This time of year that is the North West.
Hence "generally". ;)
Rare Bird
04-07-2010, 22:33
Just seen the ISS great stuff, all flashy lighty :)
Bloody missed it! I was farting around in the kitchen, having watched for 11.21pm all night! :doh: (Also missed a pair of Celef speakers I was going to bid on earlier :()
There was plenty of thick cloud here all evening in Cornwall and by 10.00 I had given up on the idea of seeing the ISS again. By 10.30 though it was breaking up and by 10.45 I could see stars shining clearly. ISS came on cue just after 11.20 and was looking hard for it's "shadow" in front but I couldn't see it at all. Whether that was high level thin cloud obscuring or it has now docked with the ISS I couldn't say.
Techno Commander
05-07-2010, 13:49
Its due another pass tonight. The "shadow" is in front of the ISS and is easier to see when they are heading away from you.
quadsugdenman
05-07-2010, 14:00
Passed over us twice, once at about 9.45 the again about 11.23. The setting sun blanked the spot in front at 9.45 but there was a 'shadowy' something in front/alongside at about 11.20
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