Skywatching and stargazing in Victoria

[Holden West]

Spot the International Space Station from Victoria.

ISS news



It was a beautiful clear night last night and I saw something tracking across the sky but it didn't seem to match up with the ISS times so it must have been some other satellite.

[sebberry]

Wow, that's a great photo of the ISS you took there

[eseedhouse]

Originally Posted by Holden West

It was a beautiful clear night last night and I saw something tracking across the sky but it didn't seem to match up with the ISS times so it must have been some other satellite.

Having done a fair amount of time myself in the amateaur astronomer game I can tell you that if you stand under a dark sky for ten minutes or so you are virtually guaranteed to see one. There are thousands of bits of flotsam and jetsam in near earth orbit. The ISS would be very bright as was the shuttle when I've seen it on orbit. It was comparable in brightness to Mars or Venus.

But there are enough bits in NEO that you'll see one quite quickly if you watch unless you are pretty unlucky.

The communications satellites in Geosynchronous orbit you would not notice or see without a telescope. GPS satelites are also very hard to observe since they are in 12 hour orbits.

[martini]

So far I have failed to stay up to see it. At least there's a few opportunities.

[sebberry]

I'm confused as to where to look based on:

ISS Mon Jul 06/00:00 AM 4 66 40 above SW 10 above ENE

[Holden West]

I guess the first figure is when is appears and the second when it disappears. 90 degrees would be straight up so 40 would be about half way.

[LJ]

My understanding is that it is only visible (from one location) for 5 minutes each orbit. It orbits the earth every 90 minutes.

[LJ]

40 above SW 10 above ENE

That would be its orbit across the sky - appearing midsky in the SW and travelling to the low sky in the ENE.

[mat]

I am really hoping the sky will stay clear this evening - cleaning the garage yesterday we found a bizarre looking telescope from my mother's old stuff, which we hope to try out.

[sebberry]

Originally Posted by LJ

That would be its orbit across the sky - appearing midsky in the SW and travelling to the low sky in the ENE.

So if one was to look for this from Clover Point, looking towards Port Angeles would get you a good view?

I might have to check this out.

[sebberry]

Originally Posted by mat

bizarre looking telescope

Careful now, maybe it's a transporter device. You might be waking up on the ISS tomorrow

[sebberry]

Saw it from my condo, although it was much higher than I thought 66 degrees would be, almost directly overhead.

[sebberry]

you can even track ISS on google earth http://orbitingfrog.com/blog/2008/02...-google-earth/

[LJ]

Saw it twice last night. Man that thing sure does move.

You have no problem picking it out of the night sky that's for sure.

Here is a goto for future orbits over Victoria.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdat...&city=Victoria

[sebberry]

Originally Posted by LJ

Saw it twice last night. Man that thing sure does move.

You have no problem picking it out of the night sky that's for sure.

Here is a goto for future orbits over Victoria.

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdat...&city=Victoria

I saw the midnight pass, looked into the sky for the 1:33 pass but I guess between the clouds and the lower elevation I couldn't see it. It should be brighter tonight as it passes earlier but with the clouds will make it nearly impossible to spot.

Kinda neat looking up there knowing that there are people there. I almost yelled out "wait, throw me a rope I want to join you" but I realized all I'd do is wake the neighbors.

I wonder when it will be visible again after the 16th...

[Mike K.]

I took my girlfriend out last night to check out the stars and to our surprise the space station was doing its thing. A jet was flying overhead at the same time and it was incredible to watch the two as they crossed our sky. And isn't there a supply vessel docked to the station right now, making the station appear bigger than it usually is?

I would recommend anyone with an interest in skywatching to pick up National Geographic's Backyard Guide to the Night Sky. It covers all of the basics, and dives into topics that would eventually come up when skywatching

[victorian fan]

Kinda neat looking up there knowing that there are people there. I almost yelled out "wait, throw me a rope I want to join you" but I realized all I'd do is wake the neighbors.

I wave at low flying planes.

[martini]

Drat I keep forgetting about this.

[Savannah]

If I'm still awake, I'm really going to try to see it tonight:

ISS Wed Jul 15/11:18 PM 4 min

58
16 above WNW 24 above E

[sebberry]

I'm almost always awake when it flies over, but it's hard to see it from my place and all the public parks are closed after 11.

[phx]

I keep forgetting to look also.

There are two showings tonight:

LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE
-------- -------- -------- ------------ ------------
10:08 PM 3 42 38 above NNW 12 above ENE
11:41 PM 3 75 10 above WNW 72 above S

[phx]

Ok, I set my phone to remind me and just watched the ISS go past! I'm surprised at how bright it is.

[Holden West]

I just happened to catch it go by earlier. It's brighter than any star.

[martini]

Oh for Pete's sake. I missed it again. lol

[sebberry]

Tried to see the 9:47 showing tonight from Mt. Tolmie, but there was still a fair bit of light in the sky. I think I saw it tho.