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ISS pass last night



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 20th 04, 09:38 AM
Martin Frey
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Default ISS pass last night

At 9.50 last night an exceptionally bright satellite went practically
over my zenith - Starry Night says it was the ISS - but I've never
seen it so bright - blazing through cloud that Vega couldn't begin to
penetrate.

I've got a short loan of a Celestron 8inch which I was messing about
with (quite impressive - Jupiter was lovely.) Setting up was a
nightmare with every guide star either behind a cloud or a tree and I
got fed up with the cloud covering everything I looked at within 4
secs of finding it so I packed it in. Looked out the bedroom window
half an hour later - not a cloud in a crystal clear sky. Bummer.

--
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 02 E 0 47
  #2  
Old May 20th 04, 09:53 AM
Jim
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In article , Martin Frey wrote:
At 9.50 last night an exceptionally bright satellite went practically
over my zenith - Starry Night says it was the ISS - but I've never
seen it so bright - blazing through cloud that Vega couldn't begin to
penetrate.

I've got a short loan of a Celestron 8inch which I was messing about
with (quite impressive - Jupiter was lovely.) Setting up was a
nightmare with every guide star either behind a cloud or a tree and I
got fed up with the cloud covering everything I looked at within 4
secs of finding it so I packed it in. Looked out the bedroom window
half an hour later - not a cloud in a crystal clear sky. Bummer.


Would you accept money in return for staying indoors?

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk
"Brace yourself, this might make your eyes water."
  #3  
Old May 20th 04, 11:48 AM
Mark H
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There was a pass last year of ISS which reached somewhere in the -4 region,
quite a few people saw it.

There was some discussion of it on the SEESAT group because I wanted to know
if anyone had seen it flare.

Mark


  #4  
Old May 20th 04, 11:52 AM
Mark H
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Correction on the date, it was October 12th 2002

Mark


  #5  
Old May 20th 04, 11:54 AM
David McKee
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Martin Frey wrote:
At 9.50 last night an exceptionally bright satellite went practically
over my zenith - Starry Night says it was the ISS - but I've never
seen it so bright - blazing through cloud that Vega couldn't begin to
penetrate.


Martin

I saw ISS some time after 11pm from my back garden here in Glasgow. The
J-Pass website says it rose at ~11.27 and set 10 mins later, reaching
about 30 degs above horizon for my site. Must have been the next pass
after your sighting.

As you say, it was incredibly bright - at first I thought it was a
fireball or meteor, but I was able to follow it with binocs until it
gradually faded into the Earth's shadow. First time I have seen it for
maybe a year or longer - very impressive. If it is clear tonight (not
very likely given recent conditions) I will make a point of trying to
catch another pass (10.12pm BST).

Cheers
Dave

  #6  
Old May 20th 04, 12:12 PM
Mike Murphy
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On Thu, 20 May 2004 09:38:10 +0100, Martin Frey
wrote:

At 9.50 last night an exceptionally bright satellite went practically
over my zenith - Starry Night says it was the ISS - but I've never
seen it so bright - blazing through cloud that Vega couldn't begin to
penetrate.


I went out to spot it because, although I've seen the ISS many times,
it was a very early time in the evening that was predicted.

The print out that I was working to was some days old and the ISS was
late but I persisted and then suddenly saw it aout of the corner of my
eye and it was very, very bright never seen it so bright. It had the
right motion for the ISS so I'm sure that it wasn't an Iridium flare.

It was so bright that I expected people walking outside in the warm
evening air to proclaim, "What the ****'s that?" but despite there
being many evening strollers about nobody did. I guess people don't
look up much.

- Mike

  #7  
Old May 20th 04, 12:30 PM
Martin Frey
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Jim wrote:

Would you accept money in return for staying indoors?

Jim


Yes - but I'm not cheap.
--
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 02 E 0 47
  #8  
Old May 20th 04, 12:34 PM
Jim
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In article , Martin Frey wrote:
Jim wrote:

Would you accept money in return for staying indoors?

Jim


Yes - but I'm not cheap.


I can produce photos that say otherwise..:-)

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk
"Brace yourself, this might make your eyes water."
  #9  
Old May 20th 04, 05:54 PM
Martin Frey
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Jim wrote:

In article , Martin Frey wrote:
Jim wrote:

Would you accept money in return for staying indoors?

Jim


Yes - but I'm not cheap.


I can produce photos that say otherwise..:-)

Jim


The *******s swore they'd destroyed the negatives.
--
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 02 E 0 47
  #10  
Old May 20th 04, 09:32 PM
Jim
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Martin Frey wrote:

Would you accept money in return for staying indoors?

Jim

Yes - but I'm not cheap.


I can produce photos that say otherwise..:-)

Jim


The *******s swore they'd destroyed the negatives.


laugh

Jim
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"We deal in the moral equivalent of black holes, where the normal
laws of right and wrong break down; beyond those metaphysical
event horizons there exist ... special circumstances" - Use Of Weapons
 




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