"One of the hundreds of thousands of pieces of space-age litter orbiting Earth zipped uncomfortably close to the International Space Station on
Tuesday. The six crew members of the space station took refuge in their “lifeboats” — two Soyuz space capsules they would use to escape a crippled
station — as the unidentified object hurtled past them at a speed of 29,000 miles per hour, missing the space station by only 1,100 feet. The episode
took place at 8:08 a.m. Eastern time.
“We believe the probability that it would the hit the station was about 1 in 360,” said Lark Howorth, who leads the team at NASA that tracks the space
station’s trajectory. NASA rules call for precautions when the risk of impact is greater than 1 in 10,000.
In the section of the station run by the United States, astronauts closed the hatches in case the debris — commonly known as space junk — crashed
through, to limit the danger of explosive decompression. To prepare for a rapid departure, the clamps holding the Soyuz capsules to the station were
released.
“They would be one command away from releasing the hooks and undocking,” said Edward Van Cise, NASA’s lead flight director.
Thanks Matt,
Hope that it will be dark enough to see it to my east on the 4th. If the skies are clear, that will add to the fireworks I see from the Punta Banda
spit all the way up to Bajamar.
Hope you and yours have a grand 4th.woody with a view - 6-30-2011 at 05:39 PM
prolly too much light along the coastal foothills of SD. i'm gonna look for it tho....elgatoloco - 6-30-2011 at 05:57 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
prolly too much light along the coastal foothills of SD. i'm gonna look for it tho....
No way Jose. If the sky is clear you WILL see it. It is going to very bright. Probably the brightest thing in the sky that night. when it goes over
the top it will be 228 miles up above all the light. It's going over on the 2nd too. Hope the fog stays away.
Magnitude on the 2nd will be -1.6
Magintude on the 4th will be -3.4
Definition of "magnitude"
This is a measure of the brightness of a celestial object. The lower the value, the brighter the object, so magnitude -4 is brighter than magnitude 0,
which is in turn brighter than magnitude +4. The scale is logarithmic, and a difference of 5 magnitudes means a brightness difference of exactly 100
times. A difference of one magnitude corresponds to a brightness difference of around 2.51 (the fifth root of 100).
The system was started by the ancient Greeks, who divided the stars into one of six magnitude groups with stars of the first magnitude being the
first ones to be visible after sunset. In modern times, the scale has been extended in both directions and more strictly defined.
Examples of magnitude values for well-known objects are;
Sun
-26.7 (about 400 000 times brighter than full Moon!)
Full Moon
-12.7
Brightest Iridium flares
-8
Venus (at brightest)
-4.4
International Space Station
-2
Sirius (brightest star)
-1.44
Limit of human eye
+6 to +7
Limit of 10x50 binoculars
+9
Pluto
+14
Limit of Hubble Space Telescope
+30
[Edited on 7-1-2011 by elgatoloco]
[Edited on 7-4-2011 by elgatoloco]
[Edited on 7-4-2011 by elgatoloco]
Space Station flyover tonight, July 4
coronamike - 7-4-2011 at 08:25 AM
The International Space Station will fly down the Pacific west coast tonight. It will be over San Francisco,CA at 8:43 pm PDT. Over LA at 8:44, over
Guerrero Negro at 8:46, and over La Paz at 8:48. Imagine flying from San Francisco to La Paz in 5 minutes!! All times are Pacific time. Good luck and
clear skies.krafty - 7-4-2011 at 08:27 AM
Thanks Mike-we will be looking for it!!shari - 7-4-2011 at 09:34 AM
so that means it will pass over us about 9:46 as we are on mountain time here...hmm...wonder if I can stay up that late?Ken Cooke - 7-4-2011 at 09:45 AM
I will definitely watch for the Space Station. I saw it once in Michigan (July 1995) tumbling across the sky, and it was quite a sight to behold.surfdoc - 7-4-2011 at 09:58 AM
OK, will be out looking up with a Tecate at 2145...
I'm another one who wants to thank you for the info, Mike. Now, if I can only remember to look up at the designated time.woody with a view - 7-4-2011 at 10:46 AM
set the alarm on your cell phone....Bob and Susan - 7-4-2011 at 02:18 PM
its almost light then
will we still see itelgatoloco - 7-4-2011 at 03:53 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bob and Susan
its almost light then
will we still see it
It can be seen because it is reflecting the sun.
The time shown is Baja N. Daylight Time (UTC - 7:00)
elgatoloco - 7-4-2011 at 03:56 PM
Here's hoping for clear skies tonight. woody with a view - 7-4-2011 at 04:00 PM
the times are different on the two threads? por-kay?elgatoloco - 7-4-2011 at 04:06 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
the times are different on the two threads? por-kay?
Interestsing. I noticed that after I posted the Mulege pass info. I updated the above post to show the 'correct' pass.
It appears that either the path changed in last few days or........?
The International Space Station’s orbit was raised Friday after the docked ISS Progress 43 cargo craft fired its engines for 30 minutes. The reboost
was the second of two this week and places the station at the correct altitude for space shuttle Atlantis’ scheduled docking on July 10. The shuttle
program’s final mission, STS-135, is officially set for launch on July 8 at 11:26 a.m. EDT.
This would explain the change in the timing of pass. Instead of 228 miles up it will be 260 miles up when it goes over. Hope marine layer stays away. woody with a view - 7-4-2011 at 05:14 PM
thunderstorms and clouds are crossing the border heading north at this time........woody with a view - 7-4-2011 at 07:30 PM
so, if straight up is ninety degrees and the horizon is zero where will it be off to the west?Woooosh - 7-4-2011 at 08:47 PM
Just passed over Rosarito Beach at 8:45pm... only fast moving light in the sky. Thanks for the heads-up!
[Edited on 7-5-2011 by Woooosh]CP - 7-4-2011 at 08:51 PM
Whahoo that was moving FAST. Went over San Juanico and is probably over La Paz right now.
Very Exciting.
Stayed up late watching the 1947 Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
What a lovely evening.
Very Cool!
estebanis - 7-4-2011 at 09:07 PM
It went over "Smell A" very obvious we had clear skies and it showed as very bright white dot moving fast. It was visable for 3-4 minutes starting
around 0843...woody with a view - 7-4-2011 at 09:25 PM
saw it for the first time!
VERY COOL!!!! Happy Birthday USA!
my blackberry sucks
mtgoat666 - 7-4-2011 at 10:14 PM
There is an iphone app for that!
Great app tells you when to look for ISS.
Also, another great iphone app is good star chart for star gazing.JESSE - 7-4-2011 at 10:15 PM
Its never cloudy in La Paz, but it was tonightshari - 7-5-2011 at 06:50 AM
wooohooo....I stayed up past my bedtime to see it...Juan went out at 9:40 and I said....it's not for another 5 minutes...but I went out to pick our
viewing spot. So I'm kinda looking around at the stars and all of a sudden I see this very strange light travelling en chinga (super rapido) west
south west and pretty low on the horizon....it wasnt bright but was like a fuzzy gray light but zooming across the sky at warp speed....so I've got
this light in the binoculars and Juan says...there it is up above and I'm arguing that I have it in my sights in the binocs and Juan keeps insisting
HE sees it above...so I look up and see the real ISS....big and bright in all her glory tracking across the sky a few minutes early....so my question
is....what the heck was that other thing I saw....gotta be an OMNI!!!! cool man...anybody else see it?mcfez - 7-5-2011 at 07:04 AM
One of the major attractants of Baja to me...is the clear night skies. You folks that live down there full time (I am a part timer).....you lucky
dogs!bajadock - 7-5-2011 at 08:11 AM
It was very bright over Punta Banda and visible for approx 3 minutes until hiding behind clouds southeast. Mostly clear night was great for watching
fireworks around the area.
Thanks for the notice, Elgatoloco.Bajatripper - 7-5-2011 at 09:31 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
set the alarm on your cell phone....
I don't do cellphones, I'm one of those nuts who sincerely thinks we're in for an epidemic of brain tumors at some future date. I still have an
old-fashion landline connected by cable for a home phone, too.
I know, how antiquated of me. I did miss the flyover, but it was cloudy all day and probably still was at the appointed time. How's that for sour
grapes?
[Edited on 7-5-2011 by Bajatripper]Ken Cooke - 7-5-2011 at 11:59 AM
I did not see it due to my inland position w/trees obscuring the western sky, although I was looking mostly towards the west. Did anyone see the
Space Station?Woooosh - 7-5-2011 at 12:17 PM
I saw it over Rosarito Beach at 8:45pm. Too overcast for the moon and stars- but the ISS streaked across bright as day.shari - 7-5-2011 at 03:34 PM
hmmm...what happened to my post about seeing the space station AND a UFO at the same time?shari - 7-5-2011 at 03:36 PM
Oh crap....I was really hoping someone ELSE saw that UFO!!!! somebody...anybody!!!Cisco - 7-5-2011 at 04:05 PM
Shari, I will have to paraphrase a post I saw here on forum awhile back.
"Yeah, I saw it too. While I was taking out the empties".
Does that help at all?Curt63 - 7-5-2011 at 09:19 PM
I saw it!
I was at Woody´s sisters place. The lightning in the Southeast sky and the ISS was agreat replacement for fireworkswoody with a view - 7-5-2011 at 09:20 PM
send me a u2 with the details Curt.surfdoc - 7-5-2011 at 10:00 PM
Sitting here in San Quentin...............and remembering the
Space Shuttle that went right over Campo Sirena! !!!
Thanks for the info.... exact time and Brillant!!!!
ISS Thursday
bajadock - 7-7-2011 at 09:47 AM
Mentioned ISS 4th sighting to several neighbors and they missed it. Looks like a replay at approx 7:27 - 7:32pm tonight???
