Space Station Spotting

[Eric Mc]

Yes - it gets a bit tedious after 20 years. However, I'll keep an eye out for it tomorrow

[Eric Mc]

Indeed it does. Making spaceflight SEEM routine can actually cause it to seem a bit boring - which of course, it isn't.

[Eric Mc]

Went out and had a look at 6.25 pm last night. It was quite low in the sky but clearly visible. It passed very close to Venus.

[Eric Mc]

Gandahar said:

I'm new to this thread but can someone advise on the following so I can do ISS spotting?

1. What anorak should I get?
2. Tupperware boxes for my sandwiches, big or little?
3. Do I have to live with my mother still?
4. If it's daylight and it passes through the sun can I use binoculars as long as I am also wearing solar eclipse glasses ? Can I just sellotape the solar glasses over the end of the binoculars, or do they have to go between the eye pieces and my eyes?


Also, I have got a notebook and pen. What serial number is the ISS so I can jot it down when the time comes ?

Thanks in advance.

Bert from Euston.

It's not worth going to the trouble of making sandwiches when the maximum time a pass takes is about five minutes.

A quick munch on a choccie bar will suffice.

As far as I know, the ISS doesn't have a serial number of any sort.

[Eric Mc]

That doesn't count - none of it is written on the side. You can't log a number unless it's on the side of the train/plane/bus etc etc.

[Eric Mc]

Might have a look tonight. Nice clear skies at the moment.

[Eric Mc]

I actually caught it in daylight once. The atmosphere must have been really clear that day.

[Eric Mc]

Are you sure it was the ISS. According to Heavens Above t's due over Farnborough at 20.36 tonight.

[Eric Mc]

That's nice. Is that the Pleiades I can see in the lower picture?

[Eric Mc]

Nice video. When I initially looked I thought, why isn't Orion upside down as it's Wellington?

Then I noticed it's Wellington, Somerset and not Wellington, New Zealand.

Doh!

[Eric Mc]

There will be a full moon tonight. In fact, it should be a very bright full moon as the full moon coincides with its closest approach to earth this month - what is called a Super Moon.

[Eric Mc]

Looks more like a Skylab launch than an International Space Station launch.

[Eric Mc]

Skylab used a Saturn V. Under the fairing on that Saturn V was the Apollo Telescope Mount, which was attached to one end of the Skylab space station.

[Eric Mc]

Nice pass just before 11.00 tonight. As it was making its way across the sky (west to east), a satellite crossed its path going north east to southwest.

I also spotted a fairly bright satellite tracking south west to north east at about 10.30.

It's busy up there.

[Eric Mc]

I wonder how long it will take before it becomes visible over the UK?

[Eric Mc]

SW the ISS and, a minute or so later, a fainter object following which I assume was the HTV.

[Eric Mc]

MiseryStreak said:

Get a great view of the ISS at the moment from the hot tub as my garden runs east-west. Must remember to look out for the Dragon launch.

I can understand why astronomers are so pissed off about the Starlink satellites, they’re pretty much non-stop!

Why can’t they just paint them matt black and angle the PV arrays slightly away from the Earth?

Apparently one of the Starlink 2 satellites has an ‘experimental coating to reflect less light‘. Hmmmm...did matt black Hammerite not make the initial round?

Covered in detail in another thread somewhere. Painting a satellite black is too simplistic a solution. Satellites need to have different coatings to control internal temperatures. Painting a satellite black would make it fail shortly after entering orbit.

[Eric Mc]

kestral said:

There you go.Taken from my back garden.

Impressive - what equipment are you using?

[Eric Mc]

Too cloudy here.

[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.