Int'l Space Station Flying over Ireland again now

Dr Pepper

I know most of you are probably aware of this but, in the hope of sparking interest in somebody who accidently stumbles into this forum...

The ISS is back over our skies for the next week or so. Click the link below to see 'rise', 'highest altitude' and 'set' times for this satellite (It only appears racing over our sky for a few minutes at a time!). Click on the date (first column of table) to view a very handy sky chart for each particular flyover.

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.asp?satid=25544&lat=53.400&lng=-6.467&loc=Dunboyne&alt=77&tz=GMT

Chardee MacDennis

Dr Pepper wrote:

I know most of you are probably aware of this but, in the hope of sparking interest in somebody who accidently stumbles into this forum...

job done, what do i need to see it?

Dr Pepper

As you've probably noticed from the above link the next (visible) flyover is at 23:35 tonight, rising in the West/South-West and setting in the East approx 6 minutes later.

You can see it quite clearly with the naked eye. (It will appear as a relatively bright star wandering across the sky). I'm not sure if there is any detail to be seen with binoculars (perhaps someone else here can answer that) but a distinct 'satellite shape' can be seen with a decent telescope and if the shuttle is docking with it at the time, the outline of that can also be seen along side.

Only problem is, the thing moves so quickly across the sky, it's very hard to catch in a telescope. You most likely need some kind of fancy expensive tracking device with the preset flight path co-ordinates. Anybody on here got such a setup? If you'd rather not go to that hassle, here are some cool pics taken from Earths surface.

This is what you might see in a reasonable quality telescope:


Fly-over animation:


Sun Transit:

Dr Pepper

Can't resist showing more *quality pics:


* I use the word 'quality' very loosely - Remember this object is between 500 and 1500km away, through a thick atmosphere of a wide range of temperatures.. and it's hurtling across the sky at approx 27,500kph... so any picture is a good one in my mind!

Here is an interesting account of one astronomers attempt to capture it with fairly standard equipment (and I'd say plenty of skill and patience):
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~zhuxj/astro/html/isssts110tele.html

djfattony2000

Anyone see this? I think I just missed it.....

fluppet

Yup, there were great viewing conditions tonight.

aidan_dunne

Dr Pepper wrote:

I'm not sure if there is any detail to be seen with binoculars (perhaps someone else here can answer that)

Well, you can't see any detail with a pair of 10x50 binoculars, I can tell you that for certain now! Went out with mine earlier to see if you could make out anything more detailed than just a bright dot moving across the sky but no luck. Maybe with a more powerful pair you might (like 50 or 100x magnification, who knows, though probably not even with that) but certainly with a basic pair of 10 timers like mine you don't.

Great to see it passing over again, though. Haven't seen it since roughly this time last year so I made the effort earlier tonight to go out into the back garden and watch it flying over. I think I might try and catch it again a couple more times over the next week while it's still visible and (hopefully!) while we have good weather.

Anyone know if there'll be any chance to see the shuttle as well? One of the coolest things I ever saw was many years ago when the old Mir space station passed overhead and following right behind it was the space shuttle catching up to dock with it. I'd love to witness something like that again.

skelliser

i saw something move across the sky from south to north about half an hour ago, was that the iss passing us for a second time or a satellite?
i actually see this kinda thing every so often, its not a plane cause its travelling to fast and NO its not a ufo!!
im in galway by the way, it passed just under the blade of the plough

aidan_dunne

Could well have been the ISS alright, skelliser. According to the Heavens Above website, there was another pass due tonight. Can't remember the direction of travel and exact time listed but I think it was due sometime just before 2 a.m. so it might well have been that. I didn't go out again to look at the second pass myself so I can't tell you if it was that or not for certain but it sounds like it was from your description.

skelliser

just went out again and saw something moving across the sky in the same area except in the other direction!!! from north to south!!!
again moving to fast to be a plane, am i goin crazy!!!

skelliser

actually just checked heavens above it could have been one of these:
Sapphire 09 Jun 02:17:13 02:25:15 02:21:14 20 N 437.095 MHz 1200 baud AX-25 AFSK
SAUDISAT 1C 09 Jun 02:19:16 02:27:35 02:23:24 30 WSW 436.800 MHz
PCSat 09 Jun 02:24:02 02:32:09 02:28:05 21 NNE 145.825 MHz
Saudisat 1A 09 Jun 02:31:08 02:38:33 02:34:51 24 NNW 436.775 MHz


fewwgh!! thought i was losin it for a minute there!

skelliser

aswell as that the iss will pass in the south west again at
ISS 09 Jun 03:06:22 03:09:28 03:07:55 14 SW 145.800 FM

strewelpeter

Did anyone see the shuttle from Ireland last night? I'm not sure if I missed it or if it was too low in the south.

Tonight, if it stays clear, there will be a couple of opportunities to see the ISS followed some minutes later by the shuttle following the same trajectory as it catches up with the ISS in preperation for docking.

You can see the NASA sighting predictions here

The listings for Dublin are
object Time duration max elevation enters leaves
ISS Sat Jun 09/10:42 PM 5 49 10 above WSW 11 above E
ISS Sun Jun 10/00:16 AM 5 54 10 above W 11 above ESE
ISS Sun Jun 10/01:52 AM 1 18 11 above WSW 18 above WSW

SHUTTLE Sat Jun 09/10:59 PM 4 44 11 above WSW 11 above E
SHUTTLE Sun Jun 10/00:31 AM 2 36 10 above W 36 above SW

If you are interested there is an excellent tool for tracking all sorts of satellites called orbitron

skelliser

ya just after seeing the space shuttle there!! fantastic! moving quite fast, easily the brightest thing in the sky!

Snowbie

Saw the ISS just there,obviously much brighter than the 10:41pm pass due to twilight.That was the brightest ive seen it so far.Now for the shuttle.

Kevster

...damn! I think I missed it. I did see two shining objects flying across the sky but they were probably just airplanes. How bright exactly is the ISS? Is it brighter than Jupiter currently is in the night-sky?

Kevster

No, wait; I think I just saw the shuttle shooting across the sky in the same direction as one of the earlier shining objects.

Snowbie

First time i seen the shuttle there now.Not near as bright as the ISS but good to see it for the first time.

skelliser

the iss just passed over at ~12.20, moving much slower then the shuttle, easily the brightest thing in the sky!

skelliser

lads that was the iss passing over the shuttle was earlier before eleven

Snowbie

No,the iss passed at about 10:41pm as well as 00:16,then the shuttle was 00:31.I missed the earlier shuttle flyby around 11.

Seems the shutlle is roughly 15-20mins behind ISS on nearly the same track in the sky.

sdanseo

Makes sense for the shuttle to be on the same track since it'll be docking at some stage

Takes ~90mins to orbit.

Snowbie

makes sense,
bit of catching up to do:D

HungryJoey

Just seen the 12:20 show

Was quite cool to see that & Interesting.

Hj

skelliser

i saw the shuttle just before eleven, then i saw the iss at about 12.16 so sorry, i was correct, i missed the 12.30 shuttle, ye must have been talking about the shuttle at 12.30

skelliser

the best night to see them both will probably be the 15 with the shuttle passing at 22.52 and then the iss at 23.10, about twenty minutes apart.

Snowbie

skelliser wrote:

i saw the shuttle just before eleven, then i saw the iss at about 12.16 so sorry, i was correct, i missed the 12.30 shuttle, ye must have been talking about the shuttle at 12.30

Have you not been reading any posts I posted this earlier maybe you missed it.

Snowbie wrote:

No,the iss passed at about 10:41pm as well as 00:16,then the shuttle was 00:31.I missed the earlier shuttle flyby around 11.

Seems the shutlle is roughly 15-20mins behind ISS on nearly the same track in the sky.

Snowbie

skelliser wrote:

the best night to see them both will probably be the 15 with the shuttle passing at 22.52 and then the iss at 23.10, about twenty minutes apart.

Your getting mixed up with something here.The two are docking by the 15th and are only 1 minute apart and are docked by the 16th.
Compare the two for your area for next week.:)

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=Ireland&region=None&city=Galway

Velcrow

Have you information on tonights passing -

Can't wait to see this - people in tin cans traveling at 27,000 kph....crazy

EDIT: Here is what I found.... please let me know if this is correct -

Can be viewed again tonight in dublin at 11:02 PM - high from the west sky and then again at 00.37 - lasts for 5 min.

Both times it will be followed approx 15 min later by the Shuttle Atlantis.

skelliser

im getting my info from heavens above and they say that the iss will pass tonight at 23.02 and again at 0.37, the shuttle at 22.58 and again at 0.32!

snowbie: we are bought arguing the same thing!! and as for the 15 have a look for yourself on heavens above, they must have gotten it wrong, maybe because the shuttle was delayed at launch?

skelliser

maybe heavens-above have gotten it wrong from what your link is saying snowbie , only one way to find, out go out and have a look! should be another clear night tonight.