Space Station Spotting

[AlexKP]

Yep, there it goes.


And again....



And again....



And again....


And again....

[jmorgan]

Aye, well due to its orbit its not always in view. Nice to have a heads up and some of us find it fascinating what with all that is involved with getting it there and crewing and all that.

[AlexKP]

jmorgan said:

Aye, well due to its orbit its not always in view. Nice to have a heads up and some of us find it fascinating what with all that is involved with getting it there and crewing and all that.

I'm just joshing. I am a complete space nut and collector.

[jmorgan]

Guessed you were. Probably not paid attention to your moniker in the past rather the content.

[Eric Mc]

I think people appreciate the odd alert on matters like this.

I'll continue to let PHers know until I'm told to sod off 'cos it's getting boring.
I'm never bored by this kind of stuff.

[wolves_wanderer]

Eric Mc said:

I think people appreciate the odd alert on matters like this.

I'll continue to let PHers know until I'm told to sod off 'cos it's getting boring.
I'm never bored by this kind of stuff.

Good on ya. Pity you can't sort the weather out so that I can actually see what you are alerting us

[AlexKP]

Eric Mc said:

I think people appreciate the odd alert on matters like this.

I'll continue to let PHers know until I'm told to sod off 'cos it's getting boring.
I'm never bored by this kind of stuff.

I quite agree! You are a public service Eric, and much appreciated for it.


(I reiterate - I was just having a giggle due to the regularity of the orbit)

[Eric Mc]

It won't be visible for much longer this month. The sequence of orbits eventually takes it into a pattern of overpasses that happen during daylight hours and therefore invisible to British observers. These handy "evening" passes occur only every couple of months or so.
I'm hoping we'll be able to see it from January 10 when the delayed Shuttle mission is launched.

[anonymous-user]

Tuesday is a good night with a long visible period high in the sky (16:28ish for me) and then a lower one an hour and a half or so later.

Edited by stovey on Monday 17th December 08:52

[Eric Mc]

Here we go again.

ISS visible over the UK for the next couple of nights.

The Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch on 7 February so there might be the opportunity to see both objects chasing each other later in the week - assuming the much delayed Shuttle launch goes ahead.

It also seems that this US military satellite which will be re-entering the atmosphere later this month is visible from southern England - although it never passes directly overhead the UK.

[im]

Eric Mc said:

Here we go again.

ISS visible over the UK for the next couple of nights.

Any idea where and when - or does anyone know if there is a website which will tell you where & when from your position on the ground?

I tried this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/nightsk...

but can't find any info on the Space Station just the constellations etc.

[dickymint]

im said:

Eric Mc said:

Here we go again.

ISS visible over the UK for the next couple of nights.

Any idea where and when - or does anyone know if there is a website which will tell you where & when from your position on the ground?

I tried this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/nightsk...

but can't find any info on the Space Station just the constellations etc.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cit...

Edited by dickymint on Monday 4th February 09:28

[im]

dickymint said:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cit...

Cheers

[minimoog]

im said:

Eric Mc said:

Here we go again.

ISS visible over the UK for the next couple of nights.

Any idea where and when - or does anyone know if there is a website which will tell you where & when from your position on the ground?

Link was on page 1

http://heavens-above.com/selecttown.asp?CountryID=...

Put your location in the search box, select it from the results page. That should take you to a main menu page. Halfway down under 'satellites' you'll see the ISS listed. Open that and it'll tell you when it's passing you. Click on a date for a chart showing its path. Lower (negative) magnitudes mean brighter.

Edited by minimoog on Monday 4th February 13:04

[Eric Mc]

I Agree - heavens-above is the simplest and most direct way of tracking the ISS (and other satellites too).

[MK4 Slowride]

Eric Mc said:

Here we go again.

ISS visible over the UK for the next couple of nights.

The Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for launch on 7 February so there might be the opportunity to see both objects chasing each other later in the week - assuming the much delayed Shuttle launch goes ahead.

It also seems that this US military satellite which will be re-entering the atmosphere later this month is visible from southern England - although it never passes directly overhead the UK.

Any thoughts on that US military satelite being knocked out of orbit by the Russians or similar? Very James Bond but possibly.

[central]

Saw it.

[jmorgan]

Cloudy. Again.

[doddze]

yep saw it here in essex... very bright

[jmorgan]

Re US Sat coming down. Quick shufty on heavens above has it as never been in control from launch. So probably unable to keep it up out of the upper reaches of the atmosphere when needed.