Space Station Spotting

[jingars]

My best guess on the info available on Heavens Above is that it was COSMO-SKYMED 1, but happy to be proven wrong if someone who knows what they are doing can contribute

[central]

jingars said:

My best guess on the info available on Heavens Above is that it was COSMO-SKYMED 1, but happy to be proven wrong if someone who knows what they are doing can contribute

The timing didn't seem right from what I can tell? :shrug:

[perdu]

Home at last Eric

Well done mod

[Switch]

perdu said:

Home at last Eric

Well done mod

You're welcome

[Eric Mc]

This thread will bne quiet for a few weeks as there are no evenuing sightings for a while. It will be resurrected in due course.

[tjg16v]

I'd like to get into astronomy, what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station, binos or scope? how much for a decent beginners set up?

[central]

tjg16v said:

what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station,

Naked eye.

[philis]

tjg16v said:

I'd like to get into astronomy, what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station, binos or scope? how much for a decent beginners set up?

The girlfriend bought me a 6inch reflector telescope for my birthday in may, i think it was about £150 and I absolutly love it. I've upgraded my eyepieces and now have a nice set of 5 GSO super plossls and a barlow lense, i reckon they have cost me another £100 but should last me a lifetime and should be good enough for higher end scopes.
My advice would be to install Stellarium on your laptop, get a decent pair of binos and go outside on a clear night and learn to find your way around the sky, see if you can see Jupiter, i think its the brightest object in the sky at the minute, also Venus setting in the south west early evening - All fascinating stuff, if you enjoy doing this then you can then splash out on a skope

I bought a pair of these just last week and they are excellent:
http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Revelation_...

[Eric Mc]

tjg16v said:

I'd like to get into astronomy, what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station, binos or scope? how much for a decent beginners set up?

Searching out the ISS and other earth orbiting satellites is essentially a naked eye activity. All you need is a list of timings from sites such as www.heavens-above.com, a dark night and a nice clear sky.

With a pair of binoculars it is just possible to make out that the ISS is not just a single dot of light. Other satellites are too small to make out any detail without specialist equipment.

[tjg16v]

Bookmarked heavens above, cheers guys

[mattviatura]

Does anyone know what might have overflown on a North to South course just before 7PM last night, I can't get on Heavens Above and in any case I'm not sure if it shows history?

Thanks

[Eric Mc]

It doesn't show history.

There are a liot of North/South satellites. They are often the military ones as a North/South track covers the entire globe eventually.

[mattviatura]

Bugger, difficult to tell but would suggest it was somewhere over the Irish Sea when I noticed it (ie almost overhead if you understand what I mean).

It's been really clear here lately, we went for a walk on Sunday evening and it was stunning but tonight is not looking good at all.

[Eric Mc]

Some decent evening passes coming up starting Monday.



Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends
Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.
13 Feb -0.6 19:37:49 10 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW
14 Feb -1.6 18:41:57 10 S 18:44:07 18 SE 18:44:12 18 SE
15 Feb -0.9 17:47:17 10 SE 17:47:45 10 SE 17:48:13 10 SE
15 Feb -2.3 19:20:19 10 SW 19:22:30 34 SSW 19:22:30 34 SSW
16 Feb -2.2 18:24:03 10 SSW 18:26:44 27 SSE 18:28:18 18 ESE
16 Feb -0.9 19:59:33 10 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW
17 Feb -3.4 19:02:55 10 WSW 19:05:59 62 SSE 19:06:24 54 ESE
18 Feb -2.7 18:06:24 10 SW 18:09:21 41 SSE 18:12:03 12 E
18 Feb -2.2 19:42:17 10 W 19:44:26 41 W 19:44:26 41 W
19 Feb -3.5 18:45:32 10 WSW 18:48:39 81 SSE 18:50:01 30 E
19 Feb -0.3 20:21:43 10 W 20:22:23 15 W 20:22:23 15 W
20 Feb -3.2 17:48:51 10 WSW 17:51:55 60 SSE 17:55:00 10 E
20 Feb -3.4 19:24:57 10 W 19:27:56 78 NW 19:27:56 78 NW

[central]

[Elderly]

Eric Mc said:

Some decent evening passes coming up


Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends
Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.

19 Feb -3.5 18:45:32 10 WSW 18:48:39 81 SSE 18:50:01 30 E

Let's hope for a clear sky to view this pass.

Do you get your info from 'Heavens-Above' ?

[Eric Mc]

Yes. It's a permanent fixture in my "Favourites" these days.

[Eric Mc]

Skies clearing in the South so may get a chance to see a fairly bright pass scheduled for 18.09 i.e just over 30 minutes from now.

[Eric Mc]

Nice pass - just missing Jupiter and Venus.

[Elderly]

Eric Mc said:

Yes. It's a permanent fixture in my "Favourites" these days.

If you like 'Heavens-Above',
I'm sure you will like this free download:

http://www.stellarium.org/