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NASA Shuttle Specific Sections => Atlantis (Post STS-135, T&R) => Topic started by: Celeritas on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm

Title: Launch Visibility
Post by: Celeritas on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm
I'm sure this question must have been posted before and if it is has please redirect me.  I've been lucky enough to live relatively nearby to the Cape and have never had problems seeing a launch before, but I have noted that some on this forum claim to see the shuttle from pretty far away (hundreds of miles--kilometres).  

Approximately how far away can you be from the pad and, assuming an unobstructed view, still see a launch?
Title: Re: Launch Visibility
Post by: dbhyslop on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm
I think that depends on how you define the words "see" and "launch."  I've seen night-time MECO from coastal Rhode Island; you could say I watched part of a launch a thousand miles away from the pad.
Title: Re: Launch Visibility
Post by: MTAS on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm
I'm in Plant City FL, not sure how many miles I am from the pad as the crow flies, but I can clearly see the SRB separation from my back yard.  Hopefully the skies will be clear tonight (but I doubt it) so I can watch it.  If the skies are crappy, I'll be recording HDNET :)
Title: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: 39B on 06/09/2007 02:01 pm
Came home from watching the shot, only to see a second amazing display unfold in the sky. Grabbed my trusty D40 and started snapping away, and kept on snapping till the light completely failed and everything was gone. Some of the results are now posted to a Flickr page.

Hope you like them.

Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35423990@N00/sets/72157600329483616/detail/
Title: Re: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: MKremer on 06/09/2007 02:27 pm
Very nice! (eerie, even)

http://www.spaceweather.com/ has a similar pic as well on their page.
Title: RE: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: Chris Bergin on 06/09/2007 02:29 pm
Very nice and welcome to the site. There's other images, some like this, which are on the Launch/FD1 thread, so I'll merge it into there, rather than having new threads (can get crowded during a mission).
Title: Re: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: 39B on 06/09/2007 02:42 pm
> Very nice! (eerie, even)

Glad you like them. And yes, eerie is a good description for the event.

> http://www.spaceweather.com/ has a similar pic as well on their page.

Well I like their shot, but I don't like their description for the colors.

"The iridescent colors are caused by tiny ice crystals and possibly water droplets in the exhaust, which diffract the light of the setting sun."

Nope.

A look at my sequence will show that the ruddy hues were an artifact of the setting sun illuminating whatever part of the contrail that happened to be aligned with the sun just above the horizon as seen from the perspective of the contrail.

Might have been a bit of refractive effects in there, but overall it's pretty easy to see that the parts of the cloud that disappeared first went to that ruddy hue shortly before disappearing, all through the sequence of shots.

Sun high: White cloud.

Sun setting: Red cloud.

Sun set: No cloud.

Easy.

And just because any given part of the cloud was higher in the sky than another as seen from my perspective on the ground, it doesn't mean that particular part of the cloud was higher in the atmosphere. Ask anyone who's watched a rocket launch about this effect if you're curious. The rocket starts out looking like it's going up, but soon arcs over and begins to travel DOWNwards, toward the horizon, despite the fact that it's gaining altitude the whole time. It's all in your point of view, eh?

Sorry about the long-winded reply, but I figured I'd better go or record about that 'iridescent' business from SpaceWeather.com
Title: RE: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: 39B on 06/09/2007 02:44 pm
> Very nice and welcome to the site. There's other images, some like this, which are on the
> Launch/FD1 thread, so I'll merge it into there, rather than having new threads (can get crowded
> during a mission).

Ah. Many thanks, and please accept my apologies for dropping this one in the wrong bucket.

And while I'm at it, please accept my thanks and kudos for the absolutely best site of its type anywhere to be found. Job well done!
Title: RE: Noctilucent Contrail
Post by: SpaceCat on 06/09/2007 04:22 pm
Glad you caught those, 39B.
Your images 0031 - 0049 is what I was seeing from the Stuart area over an hour after launch while I was out picking up my traditional Friday night pizza-- a tradition that goes back to Apollo 13, I might add :)
Not an atmospherics guy- but know enough to agree with your explanation of the coloration.
Beautiful pics!
Title: RE: Launch Visibility
Post by: askbill on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm
This was my view from just over 11 miles, in Titusville, directly across the river.  Enjoy!
Title: Atlantis & ISS Sightings
Post by: kevwalsh on 06/09/2007 11:31 pm
Just saw them pass directly overhead (Ireland), about 10 minutes between them: Atlantis does look as if she is catching up ;-)  Great sight!
Title: RE: Launch Visibility
Post by: Celeritas on 06/09/2007 11:30 pm
Saw it from New Smyrna Beach.  The sound hit us just after SRB seperation, but even at that distance the launch was magnificent, especially the way the beach was crowded by thousands of onlookers cheering the shuttle on.
Title: Re: Atlantis & ISS Sightings
Post by: Ankle-bone12 on 06/09/2007 11:31 pm
I'll be seeing them both later tonite as well. here in Minnesota
Title: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Chris Bergin on 06/09/2007 11:29 pm
All can go in here, as we don't need three threads on it, and I should have set this up before.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Avron on 06/10/2007 03:16 am
My live view of the launch..  I watched... the pan on the camera was pure luck..
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: rdale on 06/10/2007 03:22 am
I got ISS on video tonight - we'll run it in the evening newscast, it may show up tomorrow if the webmaster gets around to adding it. http://wlns.com
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: kneecaps on 06/10/2007 12:08 pm
Why is the viewing so great at the moment? I've never an seen ISS and Orbiter pass and bright as last night! Is it the high beta angle?

Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: psloss on 06/10/2007 01:04 pm
Some great launch pictures from Ben:
http://www.launchphotography.com/STS-117.html
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: gbiguy on 06/10/2007 02:42 pm
Some of my launch photos to share:

http://www.freewebs.com/jnbrown/myshuttlephotography.htm

Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: psloss on 06/10/2007 05:10 pm
Quote
gbiguy - 10/6/2007  10:42 AM

Some of my launch photos to share:

http://www.freewebs.com/jnbrown/myshuttlephotography.htm

Very nice, thanks.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Rocket Guy on 06/10/2007 06:28 pm
Great shots Jimmy and others, and thanks for the comments.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: collectSPACE on 06/10/2007 08:43 pm
I posted a few of my launch photos as well:

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-060807a.html

It was great to see Jimmy and Ben again, and Ben thanks for your help.

- Robert
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: djellison on 06/10/2007 10:25 pm
Had a great few passes yesterday and today.  Only a few hours after docking I'd say it was Mag -2 to -2.5, maybe even a Venus matching -3 - very very bright.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Stormvideo on 06/10/2007 11:31 pm
Good evening all,
 New to the board here. Here are a few scenes from my angle of the launch.

Launch pictures and video:
http://stormvideographer.com/blog/2007/06/09/sts-117-atlantis-shuttle-launch-video-photos/

Strange Vapor / Smoke trail picture well after the launch at sunset: Very interesting image!
http://stormvideographer.com/blog/2007/06/10/strange-sts-117-atlantis-cloud-smoke-left-overs/

I'm enjoying everyones pics and updates...thanks!

Jeff
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: JJ.. on 06/11/2007 12:10 am
great pic dj
love the sunset,

the iss just came over me at 12.38 am,
i got a couple of shots off through my rubber folding 10 x binocs (rested on a window frame)

i think its the movement of the truss thats making it wobble ..
.. either that or i have to lay off the coffee  :)

Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Heg on 06/11/2007 03:13 pm
Yesterday I saw Atlantis & ISS passing just before docking, about 9 pm (7 pm GMT). To the naked eye they appeared as a single, very bright object (about -2, maybe even -2.5m), easily spottable despite relative bright sky (about 20 minutes after sunset). On my small 3" telescope however, I was able to discern  the ISS (at least one of the solar arrays was clearly visible) and the shuttle (which appeared as an extremely bright, roughly triangular-shape object) - separated by a very short gap. Unfortunately enough, clouds obstructed much of the field of view.

Of course I didn't miss the next two passes and now I'm preparing for the next three tonight :)

Side note: it's rather surprising to me that shuttle reflects much more sunlight than ISS, despite much larger surface area of the latter.
Title: Booster Sep Photo
Post by: johng on 06/11/2007 07:45 pm

Weather was sure clear. Cought a pretty good pic of booster separation:
Title: RE: Photo settings, AF
Post by: johng on 06/11/2007 07:52 pm

BTW- Does anyone use autofocus during launch?

My system can focus better than just using the infinity stop, even at long ranges - except that trying to track the shuttle as it broke above the trees drove it entirely crazy. I had to shut off AF and the first pic I got of the stack was after the roll maneuver was almost complete. This is weird as I spent an evening tracking and shooting the STA approach and depart above the trees with the same settings (spot meter, etc) without a problem.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Naraht on 06/11/2007 09:34 pm
Quote
kneecaps - 10/6/2007  1:08 PM

Why is the viewing so great at the moment? I've never an seen ISS and Orbiter pass and bright as last night! Is it the high beta angle?

I think it has to do with the summer solstice.

There's going to be a pass in just under an hour here (in Oxford) at a magnitude of -1.0, which is pretty good. I will be out there watching. Although it's going to have to get darker first. It's 10.33pm now and the sky is still very noticeably dark blue!
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Skinny on 06/11/2007 10:39 pm
I finally took the time to actually get my camera and try to get some pics. Despite the fog the complex was much clearer as I expected. hooray :)
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: mceddiemac on 06/11/2007 11:17 pm
Great shots people.  Here are some of my shots of the launch from the causeway viewing site.

http://www.heffl.com/images/STS-117/
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: TNCMAXQ on 06/12/2007 02:29 am
Anyone have video from the causeway? That's where I was and would love to see it from that perspective again. I still am ecstatic over the whole thing. What a great experience.

Over on Youtube someone posted video of the launch from the 406 causeway. Not sure where that is but it looked like they were very close. Unless he was just using a very powerful lens. I am almost tempted to try watching from there the next time though you have to wait for the vehicle to clear the trees.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Bubbinski on 06/12/2007 05:28 am
I was there on June 8th...at the KSC Visitor Center.  What an awesome experience.  I'll never forget seeing how BRIGHT the yellow exhaust was as the bird climbed from the trees.  Nor will I forget the white line bisecting the blue sky.  Here's a pic I took with my Fuji 5 MP camera:

Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: TNCMAXQ on 06/12/2007 12:53 pm
The SRB flame is always striking to me since it looks totally different to the naked eye than I have ever seen it in video or photos. It does look different now than it did in the past though. I remember for my first few launches, in the 1984-92 period, the SRB plume was downright orange, like a sunset. I don't remember at what point they changed the content of the fuel and this made the flame look slightly different. Now it is more of a yellow/golden, if you can call it that. But when my first launch, 41-D, occurred way back in 1984, I was just stunned at that orange appearance.

117 was so great I hope to do it again with 118.  :)
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Naraht on 06/12/2007 10:03 pm
Saw a glorious, glorious pass at 22.12 here. It was still twilight, all I could see in the sky was Venus and the ISS. It went almost directly overhead and it flared right at its zenith so that it was even brighter than Venus. Gold against dark blue. Just stunning.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Oli4 on 06/12/2007 10:53 pm
I can back that up!
I just saw ISS pass here in Belgium.
What I noticed is that indeed ISS was as bright as Jupiter but also as orange/gold as the star Arcturus! I guess this is due to the deploiment of the new SAWs. Wonderful!!!!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: triddirt on 06/12/2007 11:50 pm
Some Really Excellent Pictures (CLOSE) are up on the Nasa Page here.

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=71
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Ankle-bone12 on 06/13/2007 03:25 am
Just saw the ISS Pass over my house here in Minnesota. you guys were right, beautiful pass. made my mom come out and watch it. we got it confused at first with another polar orbiting sattelite at first.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: ashimp on 06/13/2007 04:46 am
:cool: Hello to everyone on the fourm. This is my first post and I would like to share some of my photos from the Launch of STS-117. These were takin about 12.2 miles away along US-1 in Titusville, FL. I hope that you all enjoy them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/capetrips/sets/72157600346805528/
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: MKremer on 06/13/2007 06:07 am
Welcome! Those are quite nice, especially so many showing the amount of pitch angle change.
Nice that you had almost completely clear skies to see everything (sort of rare by the Florida coast!)
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Maxim_NZ on 06/13/2007 08:18 pm
http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2007/13jun07/tyrrell.gif

This flyover of Atlantis / ISS was posted on spaceweather. You can make out Atlantis + the new Solar WINGS. Cool! - Taken with a 10" scope. Thanks to colleague for sending me this link...
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Mark Dave on 06/13/2007 09:16 pm
That's beautiful. IMO I wouldn't see nothing but a bright star, and my luck with photographing a moving object stinks anyway.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: sdevine on 06/14/2007 09:18 pm
My new desktop background, with a small collage of images I took from the causeway and KSC.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: iphitus on 06/14/2007 11:49 pm
Saw an ISS pass for the first time yesterday, here in Melbourne, Australia. Was up at 6am for it.  Didn't expect it to be so clear, and was worried I'd miss it because it was low, but i spotted it - amazing.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: rdale on 06/15/2007 04:08 am
ISS pass over Michigan at midnight EDT was as bright as I've ever seen an object in space (other than an Iridium spike)!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: braddock on 06/15/2007 09:59 am
Quote
Maxim_NZ - 13/6/2007  4:18 PM

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2007/13jun07/tyrrell.gif

This flyover of Atlantis / ISS was posted on spaceweather. You can make out Atlantis + the new Solar WINGS. Cool! - Taken with a 10" scope. Thanks to colleague for sending me this link...

That is an amazing video!
Title: Atlantis Undocked Sightings
Post by: kermit on 06/17/2007 07:38 pm
Assuming the Tuesday Undocking, how far ahead of the ISS will Atantis be at 22:30 EDT? The final separation after the fly around is scheduled for 12:28 EDT. I have a good sighting opportunity Then in the Washington, DC area.

Thanks for any help
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: bkellysky on 06/19/2007 06:28 pm
Good article on seeing the ISS and Atlantis at space.com by Joe Rao...
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/070618_ns_shuttle_iss.html
And it can also be found on yahoo news.
Hope the clouds hold off here in the NYC area - two passes, one about 9pm and another about 10:35pm tonight.
While you're out there, take a look at the Moon, Venus and Saturn in the west and Jupiter in the east!

Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: rdale on 06/20/2007 02:38 am
Wow! Just watched them formation fly literally directly overhead. That has to be the coolest thing. Not sure why two specks of light moving are that awesome -- but WOW.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: benscripps on 06/20/2007 02:45 am
We just saw them both from Cadillac MI.  Fantastic sight tonight!  (And I pulled coworkers outside to watch...no one was disappointed...:-) )
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: daveglo on 06/20/2007 05:11 am
On the second pass over my locale tonight (just east of St. Louis, MO), I caught the photo below on a 10 second exposure. The ISS and Atlantis, with the shuttle leading, is the stripe to the upper right, as it passed above the moon (and some homes in my subdivision). Looked really cool passing through the clouds. Apparent brightness 1.8 & 1.4, according to Heavens-Above. I had goosebumps grabbing this shot.

In full disclosure, I used Photoshop to bring up the brightness about 10%. Enjoy!


Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: pippin on 06/20/2007 10:12 am
Sometimes you get lucky.

Had a perfect sight to the formation yesterday in Berlin (around 20:30 UTC). Not even in full darkness the, but very bright Atlantis and ISS formation. No moon here that evening, which helped.

And the best thing is: it was completely by accident since I misread heavens above a few days ago (thought no more visible passes in June). Just sitting there on the balcony and ooops, that looks like two VERY BRIGHT satellites...can it be...yep.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Buck Rogers on 06/20/2007 12:54 pm

Hello fellow Floridians new here to the forum. I'm new here also, and within the last 2 weeks of signing up, I've improved my knowledge of space exploration tremendously, as i'm sure you will also.

Nice to see alot of great quality shots of ascent. Thank you all! Now let's just hope for good weather coming in, more great shots? I'm looking for ground track for landing to be posted on NASA, I normally watch from US 1 in Titusville, No clouds please! lol

Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Heg on 06/20/2007 01:15 pm
Quote
pippin - 20/6/2007  12:12 PM

Sometimes you get lucky.

Had a perfect sight to the formation yesterday in Berlin (around 20:30 UTC). Not even in full darkness the, but very bright Atlantis and ISS formation. No moon here that evening, which helped.

And the best thing is: it was completely by accident since I misread heavens above a few days ago (thought no more visible passes in June). Just sitting there on the balcony and ooops, that looks like two VERY BRIGHT satellites...can it be...yep.
Saw exactly the same pass - two relatively bright objects (despite veeeery low altitude - not more than about 7 degrees) flying in formation over southwestern horizon, with the brighter of them leading. Quite stunning, given the fact they were passing a little less than 1500 kilometers from my observing site :cool:

BTW heavens-above.com hadn't reported this pass for me as well - probably due to low altitude (as stated above).


Edited for typos.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Citabria on 06/20/2007 04:37 pm
WOW is right! The kids loved it too. Tonight's view from Michigan won't be as high but, per NASA SkyWatch, they will pass very close to the moon at 10:54. Hey, rdale, will the Lansing weather cooperate?
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: brahmanknight on 06/20/2007 06:14 pm
I know this is late, but someone from my schoool, University of Central Florida in east Orlando, took this photo.  The shuttle is tracking over the new on campus football stadium we are building.  Go Knights!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Andrewwski on 06/20/2007 06:41 pm
Stupid clouds last night.  I had an extremely bright pass predicted for both vehicles, and saw nothing but thunderstorms.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: avollhar on 06/20/2007 06:51 pm
This one is a one second exposure from yesterday evening.. just spectacular to see the two spacecraft moving in a formation!

Greetings from Zuerich/Switzerland!

Achim
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Shadow Spork on 06/20/2007 09:21 pm
I saw the shuttle and station flying by southwest, 10 degrees above the horizon, just before the thunderstorms in my area rolled in last night.

No pics unfortunately, but it was very cool.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Lee Jay on 06/20/2007 10:41 pm
I don't have a telescope, or even one of the big gun super telephoto lenses.  All I have is my wedding and portrait lens, the Canon 70-200/2.8L IS and a couple of 1.4x teleconverters.

Nevertheless, I attempted to take images of the ISS and Shuttle after undocking last December.  Attached are my best four images of each.

I've since refined my technique just a bit and managed to get the second two images yesterday just after the two undocked and flew over my area.  I'm surprised that you can see what you can see considering I'm using equipment designed for an entirely different purpose.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: stockman on 06/21/2007 01:28 am
9:25pm EST, southern ontario in clear skies - two nice clear stars moving in a straight line. Definitely quite a bit farther apart then what I saw last night about this time. Wonderful sight...
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: charlieb on 06/21/2007 01:36 am
As it was down here in Binghamton NY - fabulous sight on a clear cool eve...
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: tmckinley on 06/21/2007 02:01 am
About half an hour ago I saw them fly over here in Central PA. It is one of the greatest things I've seen in the sky. They seemed to be a lot farther apart than I imagined. About how far apart are they now?
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Andrewwski on 06/21/2007 02:57 am
Another nice pass here in Western NY.  Not too bright or high, but nonetheless very cool!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: daveglo on 06/21/2007 03:02 am
Woooooo!  Just had both pass almost directly overhead, extremely bright (mag -1.8).  Intense!
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Jason on 06/21/2007 03:04 am

Picture of a bright pass over Louisville tonight. The pass went as high as 72 deg. overhead. 6 second exposure on this one. Station is on the left side of the photo, Atlantis on the right. Travelling from right (West) to left (ESE).

Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: JMS on 06/21/2007 03:04 am
Beautiful sight here in Panama City Florida... 9:55pm.
Twin stars passing in the night.
Makes a crusty old fart like me feel like a kid again.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Ford Mustang on 06/21/2007 03:10 am
Seen 'em both, twice, tonight here in Virginia.  Wonderful sightings, I must say!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: iloco on 06/21/2007 03:12 am
WOW! That was by far the best sighting I've seen. My wife and kid got to see it. It was so bright, it looked like headlights through the foggy haze that has settled here in Tennessee. Awesome. Heavens-above had mag. at -0.9, but it seemed even brighter.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: zappafrank on 06/21/2007 04:51 am
Just had a low north sighting of Atlantis and ISS.

Atlantis was 2x as bright as ISS, but no detail in the 15x80 binocs.

Slightly more than a fist difference apart (with fist held out at end of hand).

A shame that we are just getting the views this week in PHX, but we get some really bright views in a few days.

But, then I'll be in San Diego, hopefully we will have the clear skies.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Zoomer30 on 06/21/2007 05:07 am
I also saw them in Mason City Iowa.  I went outside about 945CDT and was shocked to see at least 5 other people from the apartment out there looking for the same thing.   they asked me if it would be hard to see and I was like "uh no, they are at least as bright as Jupiter if not a little brigher".

At about 950-952PM to fast move bright stars came over the trees, so I said "here they come" and tried to get a shot, nothing came out :)  Digicams dont do well with stuff like that unless you can do a long exp.  

It was very cool seeing them and knowing one was the station and one was the shuttle.  I beleive that the first one was the shuttle, but I am not sure.  Could not notice any real bright ness difference and the station is not that much bigger then the shuttle.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Bubbinski on 06/21/2007 05:38 am
WOW.  Shuttle and ISS passed overhead the Salt Lake City area an hour ago.  Two very bright objects flying from NW to SE.  ISS was clearly brighter than Jupiter as I could look at the two in the same field and to my surprise the shuttle was rivaling Jupiter in brightness near the end.  And there was a clear difference between ISS and shuttle, ISS was yellowish and a little ruddy and the shuttle was white.  Also when I looked at ISS through the binocs I noted the same thing I saw on other nights this week - namely an elongated, almost boxy shape.  The shuttle was more like a round dot though I thought I could faintly make out the winged shape (or was it my imagination?).  I was using Orion 10x50 binoculars.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: ShuttleDiscovery on 06/21/2007 06:19 am
I was trying to see the ISS twice last night. It was a really clear night, but no success! :(
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Mark Dave on 06/21/2007 11:56 am
I saw them both last night at 9:53 and took a series of photos. The lower bright object is Atlantis the other to the upper right is the ISS

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/photos/show-album.asp?albumid=28&photoid=706 I still can't get over the fact I saw them. It's one of those big things you thought was a dream or something. That's how I see it as I never got to see them before. :) Travelling from WNW to ESE. They flew directly above my house.

Heh, so that's 17,500 mph, they took a few minutes totravel and gone. I just-wow guys.  :laugh:
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: jmjawors on 06/21/2007 12:40 pm
Quote
ShuttleDiscovery - 21/6/2007  1:19 AM

I was trying to see the ISS twice last night. It was a really clear night, but no success! :(

That happened to me about a week or so ago, and it's baffling.  They are so obvious when you see them.  I'm still not sure what I did wrong that night.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: ApolloLee on 06/21/2007 04:04 pm
Quick question..... will ISS and shuttle still appear together in the sky tonight is landing ends up a no-go?
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Laurie on 06/21/2007 04:52 pm
I saw them both Tuesday night from my front yard and was overwhelmed by the majesty.  I wanted so badly to reach out and touch them somehow, to transport to the ISS and look back at earth.  I was moved with the awe and wonder of it all.

Last night, I was staying at my mother's house and we drove out on the country to get the best view possible.  It was magnificent watching the two of them against the clear sky from first appearance until they faded away.  My mother is 81 years old and was thrilled to share the experience of this moment in time as we felt the kinship of an entire world.

This mission has been life changing for me.   The last two nights have touched me in ways I could not have imagined.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: aquarius on 06/21/2007 06:12 pm
ISS and Atlantis just passed over Tbilisi, Georgia. They were close first to Venus then Saturn and then the moon. It was very spectacular.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: stockman on 06/22/2007 01:49 am
one last pass over my home in southern ontario - 9:40 pm. quite a distance between the two. probably the last time until the next mission to see two of them moving together. Great Show guys. Looking forward to the next mission.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: tmckinley on 06/22/2007 01:52 am
Just great! I was surprised by the distance but still great to see them take their turns disappearing beyond Jupiter. Good thing I only have to wait until August to see that again.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Chris707 on 06/22/2007 02:01 am
ISS and STS-117 passed over Coraopolis, PA at 9:44PM approx - gorgeous sight with nice clear skies for viewing. They were separated by quite a fair bit as per the other sightings, but did get to see 'em both... station was a good bit brighter of course. Both outshown the local air traffic several hundred miles below them!

Chris
-------------------------
http://www.thearchiveonline.com
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Astromattical on 06/22/2007 02:02 am
Caught it as well over here in Virginia.  Absolutely beautiful - was out with my telescope looking at some stars and the planets with my dad, didn't check up on the ISS/Atlantis pass so we were very surprised to see it.  Very bright!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: nathan.moeller on 06/22/2007 02:38 am
I'm actually hoping they land at Kennedy on the second attempt tomorrow.  According to NASA's Skywatch (http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html), if they come down on Orbit 219 to Kennedy, I'll be able to see a few seconds of the re-entry on the horizon.  If that happens, I promise to take video and post it.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: jbk024 on 06/22/2007 02:47 am
My wife and I watched the pair fly over about an hour ago here in North Carolina.  Perfect viewing weather - warm and clear.  It was the second time I've seen a shuittle and the station fly by in formation - truely awesome.  Looking forward to closer and brighter passes by the station tomorrow night and Sunday night.  Best wishes to the Atlantis team for a smooth touchdown tomorrow!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: nathan.moeller on 06/22/2007 03:35 am
Just saw them both over San Angelo.  Beautiful!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Andrewwski on 06/22/2007 03:53 am
Wow!  There was a pass over Western New York at 9:40 PM.  Being the summer solstice and therefore the longest day of the year, it wasn't too dark out yet.  But, wow, was the ISS bright.  Heavens Above said -0.5, but I'd think it was even a little brighter.  Atlantis trailed behind it at maybe a magnitude of 1.5.

I had my camera out and on a tripod, but forgot to charge the batteries beforehand.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: zappafrank on 06/22/2007 03:57 am
First shot tonite was much too low in the N, too much light and mountains.

Big, but short pass in about 45 minutes though.


Edit, good second pass, much further apart than last nite!
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: marsguy on 06/22/2007 04:02 am
Saw them at 9:42.  Looked awesome with the shuttle following the station, though they appeared somewhat further apart than I thought they would.  Usually I can't see it so well from my house as its surrounded by trees, but they passed right through a gap so I could see them quite clearly.  First time I saw them separately in the same general inclination.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: fauxpaw on 06/22/2007 05:14 am
Beautiful pass over the san Francisco bay area this evening, right over the top (max elevation 77 degrees).  I estimate the ISS was leading Atlantis by about 45 degrees – what a great cap to a successful mission!
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: leclaire on 06/22/2007 07:05 am
The San Francisco pass was amazing.  I saw them both from Golden Gate park tonight at 9:42ish. I can't believe how bright the station is. -0.9 according to heavens above.

LL
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: chawleysnow on 06/22/2007 07:44 am
Quote
fauxpaw - 21/6/2007  10:14 PM

Beautiful pass over the san Francisco bay area this evening, right over the top (max elevation 77 degrees).  I estimate the ISS was leading Atlantis by about 45 degrees – what a great cap to a successful mission!

I'll second that.  I'm in the East Bay and it was perfect, went by almost directly overhead.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: marsguy on 06/22/2007 04:18 pm
Do the new solar panels make it considerably brighter?
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: rdale on 06/23/2007 03:37 am
Not "considerably" but brighter.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Rocket Guy on 06/23/2007 04:43 pm
There are still the same number of panels reflecting light as there were after 115, and one more than after 116. So any change in brightness was really a dropoff after 116, and is now back up to post-115.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Bubbinski on 06/23/2007 05:16 pm
Last night I saw ISS fly overhead again, it got brighter than Jupiter when it got high.  (I could see Jupiter in the same visual field and ISS looked brighter to me).  I can't wait for STS-120....how's ISS going to look with three sets of solar panels instead of two like now?  And there's also Harmony, Kibo, and Columbus being added...I doubt they'll contribute as much as the solar panels, but still, they will make the station bigger.  And then there's STS-119 in the summer or fall of 2008, wouldn't that be when ISS attains its maximum brightness, with 4 solar panel sets?
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Chris Bergin on 06/23/2007 05:41 pm
Ok, this is an Atlantis sighting thread. I would say it'd be best to have any further ISS sightings noted in the ISS section of this site.
Title: RE: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: alan w on 06/24/2007 08:02 pm
Id just like to say a big thank you to Chris  and all involved with this site, for the invaluable information on STS 117 it was a real help for planning for my trip to see Atlantis launch. Easily the best resource for keeping up with mission developments such as the March 15 Scrub.Thanks again Chris (hope this is the right thread for such a post!) The launch experience was truly awe inspiring and worth the time and expense in every way.I was lucky enough to view from the NASA causeway, amazing.
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: Rocket Guy on 06/28/2007 04:20 am
I'm not sure if anything but 'wow' describes this but:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070628.html
Title: Re: Atlantis sightings, pictures etc.etc thread
Post by: MKremer on 06/28/2007 04:32 am
Agreed. Wow!
Title: Re: Post STS-117: Atlantis Post Flight Processing at Edwards - SCA Ferry to KSC Latest
Post by: stockman on 06/28/2007 09:06 pm
Not sure if this is correct thread for this... please move as appropriate.

Did anyone catch this picture of atlantis docked to ISS taken by a camera mounted to a telescope? quite cool imo. I found the original link to this picture on Nasawatch.com.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070628.html