The 4th the station will be at it's highest altitude and will be the brightest. It will be passing overhead for the next 15 days and next week it will
be visible in the mornings and very bright. I strongly encourage everyone to sign up as a user on heavens-above and put in your location for optimal
viewing. If you have never seen the ISS before it will be moving very fast.
[Edited on 2-3-2009 by elgatoloco]
Martyman - 2-3-2009 at 12:26 PM
Crazycat
What celestial object are we talking about here?fandango - 2-3-2009 at 12:29 PM
international space station?
thanks for the tip. will be out watching for it.fdt - 2-3-2009 at 12:32 PM
Will be watching for it.shari - 2-3-2009 at 12:55 PM
cool,looks like it will pass right overhead here...so would that be 6:30 our time or 7:30 as we are on mountain time?elgatoloco - 2-3-2009 at 12:59 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
Crazycat
What celestial object are we talking about here?
International Space Station. Tax dollars hard at work.elgatoloco - 2-3-2009 at 01:00 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by shari
cool,looks like it will pass right overhead here...so would that be 6:30 our time or 7:30 as we are on mountain time?
7:30 your time. Hola to Juan! See you this summer!! shari - 2-3-2009 at 02:02 PM
bout time amigo....gracias...cant wait to impress my friends after happy hour tomorrow!Timo1 - 2-3-2009 at 02:10 PM
Happy hour
Oh how I miss happy houravid - 2-3-2009 at 09:35 PM
Ham radio operators use the ISS for a repeater. Sometimes the crew is active and talk with hams. They also have packet operations (send and receive
digital messages) and SSTV (slow scan television exchange).
In 2005 a used spacesuit was released with a 2 meter beacon transmitter. The name given to the project was SuitSat. It transmitted for about 1.5
years.karenintx - 2-4-2009 at 07:46 PM
Thanks elgatoloco...we just watch it go over head. Heck of a sight.shari - 2-4-2009 at 08:12 PM
darn, I was out there...all tuned up with binoculars in hand...and...nuttin...oh I did see a satellite going northbound...tiny one but sheesh...I was
all excited and told all my friends to watch...ratsDavid K - 2-4-2009 at 08:21 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by shari
darn, I was out there...all tuned up with binoculars in hand...and...nuttin...oh I did see a satellite going northbound...tiny one but sheesh...I was
all excited and told all my friends to watch...rats
We saw a northbound sat as well... from our hot tub... I was thinking ISS... but it was going the wrong way! karenintx - 2-4-2009 at 08:25 PM
Shari don't feel bad...I didn't see it at first. Actually my husband, a retired airline pilot, spotted it right away. We are in CSL and it went
right over our condo. It looked like an airplane on approach for a night landing...but much higher. For some reason I thought it would be going
faster than it was...but it was still a great experience.thebajarunner - 2-4-2009 at 08:46 PM
Totally overcast in Central California (maybe we will get some needed rain)
So, zilch on the ISS
Have seen it many many times, and it always inspires.avid - 2-4-2009 at 10:41 PM
An ISS pass should last somewhere between 3-6 minutes from edge to edge depending on Altitude. It travels at around 350 miles high at at a speed of 7.68 kms/sec (17,500 mph+-). I really have never looked for the ISS even though I go outside to work it with my handheld radio. One day
while looking for another amateur satellite I watched an unknown satellite looking like a golden orb fly by.
It's especially bright...
Mexray - 2-5-2009 at 12:31 AM
...when the Space shuttle is docked with the ISS!
Check out it's orbits when the Shuttle's docked for a 'bright' surprise in the evening sky...it's rather spooky to watch, if it's an early evening
pass, as the sky isn't real dark, as the ISS/SS floats across the sky!
An early morning pass is another treat if you have the chance to catch it from your location.
Heavens-Above also lists the times and shows the orbits of many larger pcs of 'space junk' that's above us all the time...you'll be able to 'predict'
some of the flybys to impress your amigos! We enjoyed having a contest with our kids to see who could spot the most Satellites...those youthful eyes
seemed to spot the most Sat's, as we were hampered, no doubt, by a couple of 'sundowners' as we watched!
H-A also has sky charts that will help you identify those stars you can see all the time in that clear Baja air, away from the city lights...
Try it, you like it!...shari - 2-5-2009 at 08:09 AM
will someone PLEASE let us know when it will pass again...maybe I came in too early then..around 10 to 8 cause I should have seen it in our clear
dark skies...hmmmkarenintx - 2-5-2009 at 08:22 AM
Spotted it at 7:30 pm...passed over head at 7:32 pmshari - 2-5-2009 at 08:48 AM
aha....then maybe it passed over us earlier...when I was...um...pouring a c-cktail to take outside! dang.avid - 2-5-2009 at 02:41 PM
For more information about timing and Azimuth of entry and exit of the ISS you can go to AMSAT. Once on this page choose ISS from the drop down list and enter your latitude, longitude and elevation. It will give you AOS time
(acquisition of Signal) LOS (loss of signal) times and elevations. The times given are UTC so you have to calculate local time. I use Heaven's Above
and AMSAT. If you get really into this there are free software packages available that are designed for ham radio operators that will give you live
updating maps, distances to your location and elevations. Plus all kinds of other information that a non-ham would have no interest in.shari - 2-5-2009 at 04:02 PM
can you help calculate UTC for me...we are on mountain time in baja sur...does this satellite always zoom north to south?avid - 2-5-2009 at 05:13 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by shari
can you help calculate UTC for me...we are on mountain time in baja sur...does this satellite always zoom north to south?
Shari,
I am on Pacific Time and I subtract 8 hours. If you are in Mountain time you would subtract 7 hours.
The ISS goes over a specific area on Earth approximately twice a day. Once in an ascending track from south to north, the second is in a descending
track from north to south.
I found a real time ISS tracker at NASAshari - 2-5-2009 at 07:24 PM
