For Those Astronomically Inclined...

[Bobj]

The ISS will be quite bright over the London area.

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.a...t=18&tz=GMT

[RobStubbs]

The ISS will be quite bright over the London area.

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.a...t=18&tz=GMT

 

And as I understand it, the space shuttle Atlantis is currently docked with the ISS, due to undock on the 17th. Not sure that adds much to the brightness as the ISS is now quite big.

 

Rob.

[Bobj]

For those who would like to see a total eclipse of the moon...

 

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEmo...08Feb21-GMT.GIF

[John S]

What's the better we have cloudy sky

[RobStubbs]

What's the better we have cloudy sky

 

Yep cloudy, according to the forecasts.

 

Rob.

[Bobj]

Have a squiz at this photo:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080316.html

[chevin]

I had a great sighting of the ISS last night and watched it for four minutes from first sighting to terminator. It is the second time I have seen it with the shuttle attached and it doesn't seem to be any brighter, even though I had expected it to be. There is another sighting here tomorrow evening so it will probably be sans-shuttle. Being as the two sightings are so close I will see if I notice a difference tomorrow. I don't know why it is, but in the majority of sightings we have here, the station goes right over my house, so I can just walk into my back garden and look up.

[Bobj]

I had a great sighting of the ISS last night and watched it for four minutes from first sighting to terminator. It is the second time I have seen it with the shuttle attached and it doesn't seem to be any brighter, even though I had expected it to be. There is another sighting here tomorrow evening so it will probably be sans-shuttle. Being as the two sightings are so close I will see if I notice a difference tomorrow. I don't know why it is, but in the majority of sightings we have here, the station goes right over my house, so I can just walk into my back garden and look up.

At -2.3, it will be nice viewing

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.a...5.833&loc=P

erth&alt=34&tz=WAST

Click on the date and then click on the "ground track". it shows the path of the ISS.

[chevin]

At -2.3, it will be nice viewing

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.a...5.833&loc=P

erth&alt=34&tz=WAST

Click on the date and then click on the "ground track". it shows the path of the ISS.

 

-2.3! That is pretty bright! I don't what last night's albedo was but the station was glowing pretty brightly - it was impossible to miss, nothing else was anywhere near as bright. I have wondered if orbital tracks often cross at the same place, because when I look at Google Earth, the picture of my house is obviously from directly above. It is so clear that I can see the 4 x 4 I had at the time and also my wife's car beside it.

[Bobj]

Had a squiz at M42 last night....It is part of "the sword" in Orion. A brilliant photo of the area and two of the three bright stars of "the belt" are in the top left.

 

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070106.html