Space Station Spotting

[dickymint]

Easternlight said:

dickymint said:

Easternlight said:

That was a very good one,
The next pass is poor though. Too long after sunset.

According to my app the next one 18:45 is more or less the same

Edited by dickymint on Thursday 26th November 17:35

How did you get on with last night?

Tonight's was good at 18:00 almost directly overhead, but stopped just after directly above due to the time from sunset.

Your app is not telling you how long the pass is, at least not in the info in your screenshot.
I use ISS Detector and you can see tomorrow's two passes are very different the later one is much shorter.

Edited by Easternlight on Friday 27th November 19:03

Edited by Easternlight on Friday 27th November 19:05

It was as you predicted crap! There is further info on my app if you click on them individually, also a filtering facility. To be honest I've just stuck with that one over the years so maybe time for a change

I also have/use Star watch which is brilliant but a bit of a faff just to look at satellites.

[Slickus]

I watched the ISS effortlessly glide overhead last night in the South of England. Clear skies and could see it as well as Mars so clearly. 2nd week in a row I've had a great view. Tried to get a picture on my phone, but very blurry.

[kestral]

Slickus said:

I watched the ISS effortlessly glide overhead last night in the South of England. Clear skies and could see it as well as Mars so clearly. 2nd week in a row I've had a great view. Tried to get a picture on my phone, but very blurry.

There you go.Taken from my back garden.

[Eric Mc]

kestral said:

There you go.Taken from my back garden.

Impressive - what equipment are you using?

[julianm]

Had a great view of a pass tonight - 29.03 at 20.27 - N.Yorks - as the ISS started to fade in the E I spotted 2 other satellites moving SE/S - much fainter & on slightly differing tracks - any idea what they would have been? Thanks if you can help!

[MiseryStreak]

It was really bright that pass.

Do you have the Night Sky app? There’s quite a few to choose from, retrospectively. But it’s bloody good for identifying them live:



You can zoom right in on them too:

Edited by MiseryStreak on Monday 29th March 21:16

[slartibartfast]

Didn't get very high before disappearing (2201)

[thebraketester]

11:36 tonight


Thanks mods for altering the thread title…….

[Easternlight]

Watched the pass at 22:00 and it was perfect, certainly great conditions at the moment.

[Beati Dogu]

Thanks. Just seen it pass overhead. Hard to miss it to be honest.

[Evoluzione]

I think we saw it too, it's a beautiful night for it tonight. I'm currently sat out in my dressinggown smoking jacket high up on the Pennines looking at the stars, it's truly beautiful.

[dickymint]

5 mins away - should almost overhead and as bright as it gets.

[Beati Dogu]

From 23.38 tonight.

Should see the newly launched Russian Nauka module right behind it with a bit of luck.

Edit: Hmmm.. dunno. Saw the ISS easily enough. Saw something else on a parallel track as well that might have been Nauka.

Edited by Beati Dogu on Wednesday 21st July 23:49

[Evoluzione]

It's been coming around at a sensible hour in recent weeks, twice some evenings.
It's very clear hear tonight and due at 5.42pm.

[Evoluzione]

Looking South the three bright planets in a line are Venus, Saturn and Jupiter.

[Eric Mc]

Too cloudy here.

[Evoluzione]

You need to move up North Eric, it might be grim, but the skies are lovely and clear

[MartG]

I guess old habits die hard - blame it on the Americans comrade !

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/11/russia-thr...

[IAmTheWalrus]

Eric Mc said:

For those interested, the International Space Station is visible again over the next few evenings.

I saw it last night, low in the South/South West as it passed just above the moon.

It will be visible again tonight for about 6 minutes starting at 18.39 BST.
Tonight's passing is higher and brighter so should be even easier to see.

By the way, the Shuttle is due up again on 23 October so a bit of ISS/Shuttle watching will be on the cards over the next couple of weeks.

May I ask is the shuttle actually visible to see its shape or is it just a sparkle in the sky?
I presume you are using better equipment than binoculars?

[Eric Mc]

IAmTheWalrus said:

May I ask is the shuttle actually visible to see its shape or is it just a sparkle in the sky?
I presume you are using better equipment than binoculars?

The Shuttle is completely invisible these days because it is no longer in use. It was retired in 2011

When it was in use, it was definitely visible. To the naked eye and even with binoculars, it looked like a dot. However, with the right type of optics (essentially, a telescope on a tracking mount) the outline of the Orbiter was clearly visible.