Space Station - VIEWING

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There must be a lot of Astronomy Forums out there, but maybe some of you would be interested anyway.

Last night I watched the Space Station fly over, it was quite a sight.
Life in my neighborhood went on as normal, most people weren't aware of the event.
Is it really an event ? It's been going on since the year 2000.
As I saw it go by, I thought about the 6 people up there.
Anyone with children might like viewing.

Fun Facts:
* Altitude: 205 - 270 miles
* Speed: 17,227 MPH
* Size: 357 Ft long / about the size of a football field
* Continuously occupied since Nov 2000
* Visited by Astronauts from 15 different nations
* Orbits the Earth 15.5 times a day

If anyone is interested, NASA has a schedule for viewing / it was accurate to the minute.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/events/stsight.html
and
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
 
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Many years ago, the space shuttle was headed for the space station and the timing was right that I could view it in the early hours of the day. I remember going out, it was a very pleasant morning, looking up, and seeing two stars gliding across the early morning sky, one behind the other, very memorable. One of mankind's better achievements.
 
I find it interesting how it seems to go over at various altitudes, thus making it seem faster or slower than normal.
 
I watch it with my child all the time. NASA has a good site that tells you roughly by zipcode, when and where it will show. Easy to see even in light polluted locales with the naked eye.

You can photograph it and see the shape, handheld with a 500mm lens. Zooming during post processing helps...


 
Last Christmas Eve I emailed my sister to look up in the sky when the ISS was flying by her house, so she could show her kids that Santa was flying his rounds. The kids were impressed.
 
What's it's OCI?
What kind of oil does it use?

We at BITOG want to know!

lol.gif
 
transit-finder.com also lets you predict/ spot the bugger. I've got a video taken with a 500mm lens but it flits across in 1/2 second.

It's actually a hassle dealing with that level of magnification, and a dark sky around, as you don't even know which way you're "off" until you see the moon zip by your viewfinder.
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
What's it's OCI?
What kind of oil does it use?

We at BITOG want to know!

lol.gif



It used a synthetic minus a billionW-nothing to prevent startup wear in the frigid temperatures of outer space
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
Many years ago, the space shuttle was headed for the space station and the timing was right that I could view it in the early hours of the day. I remember going out, it was a very pleasant morning, looking up, and seeing two stars gliding across the early morning sky, one behind the other, very memorable. One of mankind's better achievements.

Saw the same thing about 10 years ago, when I was in northern Michigan on the coast, in an area almost completely devoid of light. It was a completely clear sky and the number of stars was unbelievable. The shuttle had detached from the ISS about 4-5 hours earlier, and about 45 minutes or so after sunset the ISS came over very bright, and you could see a smaller and slightly dimmer light trailing not far behind and directly in line with it.

I walk three miles every night after sunset and I see the ISS probably 5-10 times a month, depending on its orbit. I can go a long time without seeing it, then see it every night for a couple weeks. I actually see about two or three dozen other satellites a month as well.
 
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