Space Station pass this evening

NoQuarter

Im in dublin 12, it wasnt there for very long, i looked out as the satellite was approaching ireland about 30 seconds later it was fading!

calchas

Hal1 wrote: »

I'm looking at that link I posted earlier and the ISS is about to pass again. I didn't see anything on nasa's site about this. It's probably too far south though to be worth a mention. It's over france already.

From the way Nasa reports the passes I think it only mentions those that are visible when at highest altitude (close to due south) If That is true then so is your theory.

I still prefer the www.calsky.com site, but it's not so easy for casual observers.

scudzilla

Awesome, i saw this thread and went up to Howth Head with my wife to see it, was really really cool, i was expecting it to go right across the sky but it disappeared after about 30 seconds, why's that??

calchas

For us to see the ISS (or any other satellite) we need 3 things:
The satellite needs to be in our line of sight, above the horizon.
The satellite needs to be in sunlight.
The sky needs to be dark enough for us to see the satellite against it.
As the ISS is in a relatively low orbit only those passes around dusk and dawn allow this.
The last pass this evening passed from sunlight to shadow just after it rose above the horizon. That's why it seemed to fade and disappear.
Clear skies
Calchas

kierank01

I don't get this:
on the NASA site it gives the time of the 2 passes visible from Cork on Sunday as:
4:42 PM and 6:17 PM local time

on the n2yo site, it gives the time of the 2 passes as:
18:10 - 18:20 (UTC) and 19:45 - 19:55 (UTC).
The heavens-above site gives the times as:
19:13 - 19:17 (UTC+1) and 20:48 - 20:48 (UTC+1)

the n2yo and heavens-above sites seem to match, but the NASA site seems to be a couple of hours off.

When should I be looking for the ISS?

Beeker

kierank01 wrote: »

I don't get this:
on the NASA site it gives the time of the 2 passes visible from Cork on Sunday as:
4:42 PM and 6:17 PM local time

on the n2yo site, it gives the time of the 2 passes as:
18:10 - 18:20 (UTC) and 19:45 - 19:55 (UTC).
The heavens-above site gives the times as:
19:13 - 19:17 (UTC+1) and 20:48 - 20:48 (UTC+1)

the n2yo and heavens-above sites seem to match, but the NASA site seems to be a couple of hours off.

When should I be looking for the ISS?

Looking for Waterford NASA give 18:13 and Heavens above give 18:14 and 19:48.
The reason NASA dont give the second pass is because it will only last a few seconds. In the example you give above the Heavens above times have a UTC+1 after them. We ate currently on UTC so knock off the hour to get the first pass as 18:13 and the second as 19:48.
The 18:13 pass is the one to look out for. Hope that helps:)

kierank01

Beeker wrote: »

Looking for Waterford NASA give 18:13 and Heavens above give 18:14 and 19:48.
The reason NASA dont give the second pass is because it will only last a few seconds. In the example you give above the Heavens above times have a UTC+1 after them. We ate currently on UTC so knock off the hour to get the first pass as 18:13 and the second as 19:48.
The 18:13 pass is the one to look out for. Hope that helps:)

ok, so the 04:42 PM from the Nasa site is not shown on the other 2 sites (because it would be too bright?).

I do know the UTC/UTC+1 conversion, that is why I said that the 2 other sites matched.

Who is hoping for frost tonight?

kierank01

I think I saw it .

It appeared way to the west, and within about 3 minutes it went almost fully overhead, and disappeared in the east, but a good bit above the horizon.

Hal1

Saw it too. Great night for viewing with the Moon and Jupiter.

ynotdu

kierank01 wrote: »

ok, so the 04:42 PM from the Nasa site is not shown on the other 2 sites (because it would be too bright?).

I do know the UTC/UTC+1 conversion, that is why I said that the 2 other sites matched.

Who is hoping for frost tonight?

UTC=GMT. UTC+1 =GMT+1.
Many people felt it uncomfortable that Grenwich Mean Time or British Summer Time was the International standard and it 'seemed'like the EMPIRE was even claiming that the beginning&end of time began in the UK.
for all intents&purposes they are exactly the same thing except a UNIVERSAL way of saying it.

NASA also use Central standard time{CST}and Central Daylight Time{CDT}which means you have to subtract 6 hours from UTC and UTC+1.

another thing to remember is the USA does not Spring forward or Fall{Autumn}back at the same time as Ireland and the UK,it has varied from two weeks to a month!

Good news is the NASA homepage is now testing a Beta version to show each Country times in its own time-zone!
Glad to have made that as clear as mud!:)

fifilarue

Bee-you-tifull view of the ISS here in the west about 45 minutes ago-first time in ages I managed to see it.

NoQuarter

Hi all, might get a chance to get out to brittas bay tomorrow evening, a bit clueless using the sites listed, does anyone know if there will be any passes in that area tomorrow and the times?

Thanks!

Hal1

king-stew wrote: »

Hi all, might get a chance to get out to brittas bay tomorrow evening, a bit clueless using the sites listed, does anyone know if there will be any passes in that area tomorrow and the times?

Thanks!

Tomorrow:

Date: Sunday, January 24, 2010
Time: 05:37 PM
Duration: Less than 1 minute
Maximum Elevation: 12°
Approach: 12° above SSW
Departure: 10° above S

You should be in a good spot with it being so far down the horizon.

NoQuarter

Thanks Hal1, which site do you use for that info? I dont want to keep asking everytime!

Hal1

king-stew wrote: »

Thanks Hal1, which site do you use for that info? I dont want to keep asking everytime!

This, http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=Ireland&region=None&city=Dublin&ss=201001240537ISS there were 2 listings for the ISS tomorrow 5:36pm is probably the better time its less than a minute of viewing also.

calchas

Appears 17h31m21s 1.8mag az:276.2° W horizon
Culmination 17h35m36s -0.1mag az:215.3° SW h:14.2°
Disappears 17h39m49s -0.4mag az:154.0° SSE horizon

might be tough to spot, but it passes very close to jupiter which should be visible before the pass

calchas

there is a short explanation of how to use the sites on the ias website.
www.irishastrosoc.org

If you can't follow it, let me know and I'll make improvements