ISS visible again next week (from 18 Jan) - Observing challenge

Dr Pepper

Hi folks,

Keep an eye out for the ISS again in the coming week.
This page from www.heavens-above.com is very handy for location and exact times of passes.

According to that page, the ISS will be visible low in the SSE at 18:47:32, Sunday 18th for only 5 seconds!! Not sure if you'd get a glimpse of it at all but it would be a good observing challenge to give it a try.

Very often, the ISS will seem to fade out and disappear quite quickly in mid flight... Don't worry! This is because it has just passed into the shadow of the Earth and there is no longer any sunlight reflecting from it to our location (hence, we can't see it at all).

Note: The linked page shows the pass times from my location (Dunboyne, Co Meath), - that info should be about the same for Dublin/Meath/Louth/Kildare/Wicklow but if you're elsewhere, you should enter you own location on the home page of that site (first option under "Configuration" - "from database" is the handiest option for setting your location).

If you get bored of looking at ISS or if it's not visible when you want to look, similar time/location data is available for hundreds of other satellites on that site - Just print out a list and see if you can spot them all (usually you'll see one every few minutes).

Linguo

I'm up for the challenge, me and my other half wish we could follow it in the scope, ah well!

Dr Pepper

It's not impossible to follow it with a scope (not that I've ever done it myself but I know it's been done!). Sometimes during a good pass, it will move fairly slowly in the sky in the West for a minute or 2 (obviously it's still moving at the same speed as always but appears slower depending on the distance/angle from viewing location and position of the Sun).

I might give this a try next week myself. Here's some I'll be keeping in mind:
- The passes with the higher altitudes and longest time above the horizon would obviously be best
- Make sure the finder scope is perfectly aligned. 1 person could man the finder scope and try to (steadily!) track the object while the other looks through the eyepiece?
- Keep both eyes open and on the target when looking through the finder scope. The eye that's not looking through the finder will give you a wider field of view and can also be used to point the cross hairs at the object.
- Try a lower magnification eyepiece to get some practice (20-30mm) - wider field of view = more likely to see something!
- Practice with a plane!?

Anybody here ever done this? Any tips?

- I know, if you have a computerised mount, you can get programs to run on your laptop and automatically track a satellite - Anybody ever done this successfully?

Linguo

Someone here saying they have done it

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2424646/Main/2417948

Would love to try, have nexstar 8 se so should work with it

Mint Sauce

apartently its visable tonight, just heard matt copper (today fm) chatting out it,

any observing tips

BCawley

Anybody see anything?
I saw something that appeared to be brighter then most stars about 10 minutes ago, its still there now but less bright

Also saw a dim light move accross the sky but I'm pretty sure that was a plane

Dr Pepper

BCawley wrote: »

Anybody see anything?
I saw something that appeared to be brighter then most stars about 10 minutes ago, its still there now but less bright

Also saw a dim light move accross the sky but I'm pretty sure that was a plane

Wasn't looking but there was a pass at 18:40 this evening starting in the West and 'disappearing' in the South-East so that could well have been it.. It sometimes gets dimmer as it starts to move into the Earth's partial shadow (or Earth's atmosphere's shadow?) and then disappears altogether.

Calibos

My first attempt at imaging the ISS with my scope last year:






Over exposed and I didn't use a fast enough shutter speed on the webcam.

And now for the worlds master amatuer ISS and Shuttle imager Ralf Vandeberg from Belgium:
http://tinyurl.com/c8dpcu
http://tinyurl.com/bblvwq

Dr Pepper

Great pictures. I'd be delighted with those.

That Ralf Vandeberg fella is really something. I'm never quite sure whether to be inspired or put off when I see people taking photos like that And that's all with a 10" Newtonian with manual tracking.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Hi all,

has anyone got times for the passes over the next few days? The Astronomy Ireland iis section is down

spatchco

just log on to heavens above all times and passes are there.saw it last night,to-night time is [and its dead on time]17;32-17;38 and again at 19:08-19:11 if the night is clear it will pass under venus west to east nearly directly overhead,i watch it every night its visable ,no glasses needed

Linguo

Yeah looks great so far!

spaceweather.com also does ISS predictions