STS-122: Atlantis and ISS Viewing (In Mission)

STS-122: Atlantis and ISS Viewing (In Mission) by ETEE on 08 Feb, 2008 15:04
There's a highly visible pass of the ISS directly overhead in Southern England tonight (London 5.57pm), followed by STS-122 about 25 minutes later. See Heavens Above for details.

http://www.heavens-above.com/
#1 by Chris Bergin on 08 Feb, 2008 15:13
Made this into a new thread, as per usual for us during a mission.

Got to admit that when I first saw the ISS and an orbiter go directly overhead I was almost (almost I said!) blubbering like a big girl. Very surreal and always stunning.
#2 by astrobrian on 08 Feb, 2008 15:22
if the skies cooperate I will have a good shot on the 15th
#3 by ETEE on 08 Feb, 2008 15:30
Skies are clear in London tonight! I'm keeping everything crossed!
#4 by ShuttleDiscovery on 08 Feb, 2008 15:48
Quote
ETEE - 8/2/2008 4:30 PM

Skies are clear in London tonight! I'm keeping everything crossed!

Same here in Rugby, Warwickshire too!

Last time I saw ISS was when Endeavour was docked during STS-118...
#5 by ShuttleDiscovery on 08 Feb, 2008 17:07
Wow that was one amazing passover! It was really clear and bright. I ran up to my 60 year old neighbour and showed him and he was amazed! :laugh:

I'll try and watch Atlantis in a minute but I don't think it will be as bright....
#6 by ETEE on 08 Feb, 2008 17:25
Fantastic view from London, Atlantis was not quite as bright as the ISS but boy does she move fast.
#7 by Mark Max Q on 08 Feb, 2008 17:26
Quote
ShuttleDiscovery - 8/2/2008 12:07 PM

Wow that was one amazing passover!

Atlantis is Jewish? :laugh:
#8 by CommanderAce on 08 Feb, 2008 17:26
Sweet! Just watched Atlantis fly overhead, TPS inspection seamed to be going well :p
Had a break from my programming. I'm writing a program for my uni major project to track the station with my 6" telescope so hopefully I'll have some nice images to share in the coming months.
#9 by Donna Spaceships on 08 Feb, 2008 17:29
Wow, that was cool. Got lots of friends to watch too. Hard to imagine the distance as it appears like a fast jet.
#10 by Ronsmytheiii on 08 Feb, 2008 17:33
I have a sighting opportunity for both on the 17th, incidentally also my 21st birthday! Hopefully I will have recovered enough to see it by 7 pm
#11 by Lawntonlookirs on 08 Feb, 2008 18:04
Glad to hear you in England had a chance to see both the ISS and Atlantis. Not as fortunate in Pennsylvania this time as the first sighting is not until Feb 11 and even then they are not direct passover. It is great to see the ISS followed in a few minutes by the Shuttle.
#12 by ShuttleDiscovery on 08 Feb, 2008 18:23
I saw Atlantis perfectly as well!

It was sooo fast though!!

:cool:
#13 by vt_hokie on 08 Feb, 2008 18:38
Quote
Lawntonlookirs - 8/2/2008 2:04 PM

Glad to hear you in England had a chance to see both the ISS and Atlantis. Not as fortunate in Pennsylvania this time as the first sighting is not until Feb 11 and even then they are not direct passover. It is great to see the ISS followed in a few minutes by the Shuttle.

What part of PA are you in? Here's what I get for northeast PA...
#14 by LSainsbury on 08 Feb, 2008 19:00
Was outside at 19:20 for a good 20 mins but didn't catch the ISS - never normally miss it...

I'm in Newbury / Berkshire / UK

Ah well - there's always tomorrow!
#15 by Lawntonlookirs on 08 Feb, 2008 19:03
Quote
vt_hokie - 8/2/2008 2:38 PM

Quote
Lawntonlookirs - 8/2/2008 2:04 PM

Glad to hear you in England had a chance to see both the ISS and Atlantis. Not as fortunate in Pennsylvania this time as the first sighting is not until Feb 11 and even then they are not direct passover. It is great to see the ISS followed in a few minutes by the Shuttle.

What part of PA are you in? Here's what I get for northeast PA...

HARRISBURG, PA. I CHECKED ON HEAVENS ABOVE AND NOT ON THE ISS SITE.
#16 by PaulyFirmbiz on 08 Feb, 2008 19:17
i saw the discovery and ISS the last time around from new jersey.. its a sick site.. Just bought myself a really nice telescope i will also try to get some images i have a great lil mountain run by my house with a sick view of the horizen at nite.. unfortunetly the weather hasnt really been the best for spotting anything for the low cloud cielings in the tri state area lol
#17 by Steve B on 08 Feb, 2008 21:08
There's another pass over Southern England on Sat Feb 9th at 6.15pm GMT *shortly after the docking*, at an elevation of 85deg (London) and 74deg for Southampton (33 above WNW approach to 22 above E).

Visibility conditions are presently looking good for this time!
#18 by Chris Bergin on 08 Feb, 2008 21:16
Quote
Steve B - 8/2/2008 10:08 PM

There's another pass over Southern England on Sat Feb 9th at 6.15pm GMT *shortly after the docking*, at an elevation of 85deg (London) and 74deg for Southampton (33 above WNW approach to 22 above E).

Visibility conditions are presently looking good for this time!

Steve, I struggle to read what's a good pass or not. Any good passes for those of us "up north" (York)?
#19 by Steve B on 08 Feb, 2008 21:58
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Chris Bergin - 8/2/2008 10:16 PM

Steve, I struggle to read what's a good pass or not.

I'm with you on that Chris... when I say "good" I was really referring to the fact we're [hopefully] expecting clear skies tomorrow evening, which is a fine start, and it's fairly high in the sky. In York however ISS will be lower in the Sky, from HSF (Human Space Flight) the details are... 18:15 GMT; Max Elev 52 deg, approach 31 above WSW to 20 above ESE dep.

I will also take a look at 'heavens-above' ...anyone have any further info?
#20 by ETEE on 08 Feb, 2008 22:18
A good pass also refers to the magnitude or brightness of the space station. Today's was -2.4 which is really bright and it helps if the object is overhead (as it was). Negative numbers are brighter. Heavens-Above can be customised to your local position for York predictions. Try this http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=53.956&lng=-1.093&loc=York&alt=11&tz=GMT Your best day is tomorrow (Saturday).

London viewing is as follows

Day/Magnitude/Time of max altitude GMT
9 Feb -2.5 18:16
10 Feb -2.4 18:37
11 Feb -2.4 17:23
11 Feb -1.6 18:57
12 Feb -2.3 17:43
12 Feb -0.5 19:18
13 Feb -1.6 18:04
#21 by ntschke on 08 Feb, 2008 22:43
Quote
Steve B - 8/2/2008 5:58 PM
Quote
Chris Bergin - 8/2/2008 10:16 PM Steve, I struggle to read what's a good pass or not.
I'm with you on that Chris... when I say "good" I was really referring to the fact we're [hopefully] expecting clear skies tomorrow evening, which is a fine start, and it's fairly high in the sky. In York however ISS will be lower in the Sky, from HSF (Human Space Flight) the details are... 18:15 GMT; Max Elev 52 deg, approach 31 above WSW to 20 above ESE dep. I will also take a look at 'heavens-above' ...anyone have any further info?
I've used Heavens Above exslusively since I found out about it. Set your digital watch to realtime (down to the second) and you will see it from your location right next to the star/constellation as predicted in the detail chart. You can also save multiple locations for viewing while out of town etc.
A "Good" pass is usually one that reaches higher than say 15 degrees and tends to fly close to "overhead". The higher up and the closer to sunrise/suset the better. Also look at the Mag listed. Anything in the negatives (-1.4 ex) is bright and you will not confuse it with anything else in the sky. The best passes are when the vehicles are "chasing" each other. Once I got lucky and saw 2 passes, the first docked, 90 minutes later, undocked and 2 seperate bright "stars". (I'll try to dig up a great video someone took of a double-pass from last year...)
Awesome sight to see.
#22 by Steve B on 08 Feb, 2008 22:57
Many thanks for the info etee and ntschke. Unfortunately I missed seeing Atlantis seperate today, but looking forward to seeing the pass tomorrow!
#23 by Chris Bergin on 08 Feb, 2008 23:00
Excellent. Thanks!
#24 by Avron on 08 Feb, 2008 23:01
If you live in NE USA time to get outside.. three vehicles passing overhead - approx 2 mins passes

Its overcast here in Toronto...
#25 by ShuttleDiscovery on 09 Feb, 2008 16:23
Clear skies over most of UK tonight, so the 6:11pm passover should be a good one!
#26 by CommanderAce on 09 Feb, 2008 17:20
Now that was one of the brightest passes I've ever seen! Beautiful!
#27 by Spiff on 09 Feb, 2008 17:22
Yesterday 2 beautiful passes of first ISS and then Atlantis from here in the Netherlands.

Today just a few minutes ago an even better pass about half an hour after docking. Very bright and although I couldn't make out any detail in my binoculars, it was definately not a dot!
#28 by spaceamillion on 09 Feb, 2008 17:22
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CommanderAce - 9/2/2008 12:20 PM

Now that was one of the brightest passes I've ever seen! Beautiful!

Also very bright from oop north !! :laugh:
#29 by CommanderAce on 09 Feb, 2008 17:24
Quote
spaceamillion - 9/2/2008 6:22 PM Also very bright from oop north !! :laugh:

Just wish I had my 6" telescope setup! :frown:
#30 by paulhbell07 on 09 Feb, 2008 17:26
A lot brighter than the last time I saw ISS. That was a few years ago. Wonderful sight, flew right past the seven sisters. I wish I had my old camera.
#31 by ETEE on 09 Feb, 2008 17:30
Another great view of the ISS from London tonight. I'm waiting for some passers by to ask what we're looking at. My 84 year old mother thought it was the most exciting thing she's seen and I am now being bombarded with questions like "why is it so bright" and "how fast is it going"?
#32 by Jones36 on 09 Feb, 2008 17:31
No chance of a sighting for me until the 13th.
#33 by ShuttleDiscovery on 09 Feb, 2008 17:31
I found tonight's flyover NOT as bright as last night. I could still see it clearly but last night was bigger.

Any advice on how to see it better? I've tried taking pictures on my didgital camera but they come out as squiggles in the pictures because the camera isn't perfectly still in my hands! I'm thinking of getting some binoculars so I can see it better...
#34 by paulhbell07 on 09 Feb, 2008 17:35
I have 10x50 binoc's, I could see no detail. Next buy is a telescope.
#35 by astrobrian on 09 Feb, 2008 22:32
The OMS issue may be a blessing in disguise for me as the best night for magnatude here would be the day after undocking. Now, with it looking like maybe an extra day on orbit possibly, just gotta keep the clouds away. Will post pics if it happens
#36 by vt_hokie on 09 Feb, 2008 23:10
Now, aren't you all glad they went with 51.6 deg inclination over 28.5 deg? :laugh:
#37 by ShuttleDiscovery on 10 Feb, 2008 10:47
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vt_hokie - 9/2/2008 12:10 AM

Now, aren't you all glad they went with 51.6 deg inclination over 28.5 deg? :laugh:

VERY!
#38 by ntschke on 10 Feb, 2008 11:35
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ShuttleDiscovery - 9/2/2008 1:31 PM I found tonight's flyover NOT as bright as last night. I could still see it clearly but last night was bigger. Any advice on how to see it better? I've tried taking pictures on my didgital camera but they come out as squiggles in the pictures because the camera isn't perfectly still in my hands! I'm thinking of getting some binoculars so I can see it better...
Depending on the digital camera you should have a shutter speed control (unless its a "point-n-shoot"), set that to something like 15 seconds or even bulb exposure. Then set the the timer to 10 seconds. Put it on a tripod with a wide angle view of the expected path of travel. When you first see it, press the shutter (timer will allow for the vibrations to stop) and you should get a nice trail in the exposure of the flyover-see link below.
To see it live you need a powerful zoom lens and a steady hand to see anything more than a bright shape. If you've got one, most of the newer GO-TO telescopes can be uploaded with the current orbital elements for the ISS/Shuttle and you can watch/video/shoot it through the scope.
I've seen some amazing pictures people have taken in telescopes, detailed to the point of being able to see the shuttle not only docked but clearly see the 3 main engines.
Check out http://spaceweather.com/ it has some great user-submitted pics of recent flyovers right now...
#39 by Zephon907 on 10 Feb, 2008 16:54
Looks to me like you guys are pros at viewings. I've only seen it one time, a couple of missions ago, not sure which one. But, it's an awesome sight to behold; it was so much brighter than Venus. I drove out to a relatively dark (away from city lights) location overlooking a lake and was able to view it for about two minutes. Another car full of people stopped by just to view the lake and I pointed out the STS/ISS to them. Boy, were they amazed. What I find interesting is that it doesn't just come up over the horizon like other celestial objects, but "fades" into view as it comes out (I assume) of the earth's shadow, and then fades out of view.

Next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I should have some good viewing opportunities with durations of 3, 4, & 2 minutes respectively. I sure hope the weather cooperates.
#40 by Oli4 on 10 Feb, 2008 17:49
Just saw the flyby over Belgium!
#41 by ETEE on 10 Feb, 2008 18:00
Yup third night in a row, brightest object in the sky from London (apart from the moon), and it passed very close to Mars. It looks like a high and fast flying police helicopter with the searchlight turned on!
#42 by triddirt on 10 Feb, 2008 22:19
Just caught a pass from Rochester,NY about 30 minutes past sunset.. Sky was still dark blue and dusty dark pink no stars visibleyet. Quite bright.. Heaven's above said -.2.
#43 by IW1DGG on 11 Feb, 2008 16:35
Just seen flying over North West Italy was the only "star" in the sky, very nice..
Waiting for the 13th Feb pass, it will be a -2,4 magnitude
Maybe I'll try to take some pictures...

Ciao!
#44 by jackyg on 11 Feb, 2008 16:37
Wow what an amazing experience to see them fly over. The weather was excelent en we ( also my daughter and my son in law were watching with me) saw it perfect for al least 3 minutes. Again wowwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!
#45 by ETEE on 11 Feb, 2008 18:11
4th night running a good view of the ISS from London. Viewing opportunities coming to an end shortly!
#46 by eeergo on 11 Feb, 2008 18:13
Just saw a nice pass here. It wasn't too overhead nor very bright, but I could clearly see 2 points of light, one of them with a reddish hue (array)... I wonder what the other was, maybe the Shuttle? And it had the added interest of knowing there were two people spacewaking in that very instant, preparing to add a European module... really inspiring!
Pity there was a group of children trying to know what I was doing and shouting from a building next to where I was...
#47 by eeergo on 11 Feb, 2008 18:23
Wow, look at this wonderful image of the docking in spaceweather.com:

http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2008/11feb08/Grzegorz-TuszyAski1.jpg

The guys doing photo-observations are getting some incredible pictures lately!
#48 by pechisbeque on 12 Feb, 2008 13:21
Quote
eeergo - 11/2/2008 8:23 PM Wow, look at this wonderful image of the docking in spaceweather.com: http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2008/11feb08/Grzegorz-TuszyAski1.jpg The guys doing photo-observations are getting some incredible pictures lately!
Wow you can even notice the different reflection on the solar array that was damaged!
#49 by TJL on 12 Feb, 2008 20:22
Got a very nice view of ISS / Atlantis last night over Long Island...followed by Progress M-62 about 20 minutes later.
#50 by IW1DGG on 13 Feb, 2008 17:16
hi guys, -2,4 magnitude pass over northern Italy just occurred, wery bright!
#51 by ksc_houston on 13 Feb, 2008 17:32
-1.9 mag pass of the docked complex over Romania, about 2 hours ago, absolutely spectacular and very bright ! I'm waiting for two -2.4 mag passes on 14th and 16th february over my town :cool: ! Anybody knows if with binoculars I can manage to view some detail ?
#52 by GLS on 13 Feb, 2008 18:47
Just passed here, saw it going into the shadow... then rushed back in and watched the same on the NASA TV web feed!!!
Let's see if I can spot the Progress, like TJL.

EDIT: No luck... damn buildings! :angry: :angry:
#53 by ETEE on 13 Feb, 2008 19:09
Quote
ksc_houston - 13/2/2008 6:32 PM

-1.9 mag pass of the docked complex over Romania, about 2 hours ago, absolutely spectacular and very bright ! I'm waiting for two -2.4 mag passes on 14th and 16th february over my town :cool: ! Anybody knows if with binoculars I can manage to view some detail ?

At 220 miles up, absolutely no chance with binocs!
#54 by stockman on 13 Feb, 2008 23:16
Finally!!! after three days of overcast, snow and freezing rain the sky finally cleared and I just saw a beautiful pass almost directly overhead (75 degrees elevation). In Southern Ontario at 7:10 EST. Without question, the brightest star in the sky. Got to watch the shuttle/ISS star fade to black as it headed into orbital night. Wonderful sight.
#55 by IW1DGG on 14 Feb, 2008 18:02
Hi, I tried to take a 15" picture, quite nice also if I move a little the camera
#56 by IW1DGG on 14 Feb, 2008 18:14
oops, forgot the picture, try again..
#57 by Zephon907 on 15 Feb, 2008 00:07
Nice picture. I'm in SW Missouri, USA, and just saw it pass from NNE to ENE at about 17 deg. above the horizon. It was in view for about 2 minutes. It's supposed to be visible for about 4 minutes at 45 degrees or so tomorrow nite. Sadly, there's supposed to be some weather moving in tomorrow so my chances of a clear sky are at a minimum.
#58 by astrobrian on 15 Feb, 2008 00:59
Zephon, I have the same situation here as well.
#59 by Andrewwski on 15 Feb, 2008 01:02
Try living in Buffalo NY. Viewings during the winter are few and far between. I've had some awesome passes scheduled, but the weather has not cooperated.
#60 by Bubbinski on 15 Feb, 2008 02:26
I'm going to get chances tomorrow and Sunday. I had a great pass tonight, BUT I was working and couldn't leave the office.
#61 by Bubbinski on 16 Feb, 2008 05:17
I saw ISS and Shuttle tonight, in the southern sky. Bright as or brighter than Jupiter despite being only 40-45 degrees in the sky. Definitely was brighter than Sirius or Mars. Only saw with naked eye....will get another chance Sunday and this time I'll observe with my new 11x56 binoculars. Also will have a visible pass of USA 193 that evening too.
#62 by RafaelCE on 16 Feb, 2008 15:10
Acording to HeavensAbove, tonight we start a series of eitght nights with passes between 6pm to 7:30pm, mostly below 0.3 magnitude and down to -1.8 in some cases. That means that we will be able to see de complex both docked and undocked, and the night before landing. We were not in that position since STS-117, coincidentally Atlantis too, so we are "proud, happy and thrilled"
#63 by Lawntonlookirs on 16 Feb, 2008 15:25
I am looking forward to tonight when at 6:35 the USA 193 will be in the SE sky and then at 6:37 the suttle and ISS will be in the Western sky.
#64 by stockman on 16 Feb, 2008 22:56
Nice northwest to southeast pass just now in Southern Ontario. As usual the station/shuttle complex was the brightest star in the sky. Looking forward to opportunities (and our local weather) this may be the last opportunity I have for viewing them together for the rest of this mission. Beautiful sighting!!
#65 by Andrewwski on 16 Feb, 2008 23:43
I just saw that one too. First (and probably last) clear day of the mission.

As many passes as I've seen in the past few years, they never cease to amaze me.
#66 by astrobrian on 17 Feb, 2008 00:35
Not a great shot, but one of the first with my new camera, will get the settings right soon enough As this is my first real camera if anyone has the settings they use, I am all ears, likewise if you want the settings i used for this shot
#67 by Jester on 17 Feb, 2008 10:49
Above ESTEC, on the 14th
#68 by ntschke on 17 Feb, 2008 13:08
We finally got a nice clear night (moon was a bit bright but I'll take what I can get) to go out and see the flyover. Beautiful, -2.2 magnitude, you couldn't miss if you wanted to. The Heavens Above track was almost dead on (accouting for slight varitions in lat/long for the center my town compared to where my house is). I got some great pics, unfortunately the exposure of the pass through Orion wasn't the best...too blurry and wrong exposure.
Check out the Prediction chart and the actual path. Timing was literally down to the second. I especially like it when neighbors wonder what the hell I'm doing out there...
#69 by ntschke on 17 Feb, 2008 13:23
Couple more...
#1 End of the pass, as panned down to catch it going towards the horizon. Nice, but not as cool as it would have been if I had it going through Orion with a much better exposure...
as in #2
#70 by bkellysky on 17 Feb, 2008 13:36
I saw the ISS/STS-122 last night about 6:40pm ET. Very bright. A bright blob with no particular shape in my 8x20 image stabilized binoculars. I didn't try for a photo since it was behind lots of trees.
USA-193 was predicted to be low in the south a few minutes before the ISS, but it was too low for me to see.
Rain is predicted through Monday. I'd love to see them after the ISS/STS undocking, but I'm really hoping for good skies for the lunar eclipse on Wednesday night!
#71 by Bubbinski on 18 Feb, 2008 06:37
Saw ISS tonight just before 6:30, in the southern sky. It got distinctly brighter than Sirius (ISS got to something like -2 - I know it wasn't as bright as Venus would be) and you could BEGIN to make out more than a dot in the binoculars, like there was the start of a shape, but you couldn't see anything distinct.

Also caught USA 193 an hour later. Brighter than predicted, about as bright as Sirius.
#72 by Zachstar on 19 Feb, 2008 00:04
Spotted both Atlantis and ISS!

The local news (CBS) KSLA informed me of the pass.
#73 by mwfair on 19 Feb, 2008 16:10
A group at Munich Public Star Observatory actually have video of the docking on Feb 9. Incredible:
http://www.tracking-station.de/images/images.html
#74 by Citabria on 19 Feb, 2008 16:32
Had my first chance to see ISS+Atlantis cross the face of the sun on Saturday. CalSky.com predicted crossing 5 miles from my house and the weather actually cooperated! Used 4.3" reflector with Mylar solar filter and waited nearly a minute after predicted time. Then, WHOOSH and it was gone in half a second. Just enough time to move my eye to it and see a slanted H shape. Not enough time to see detail or Atlantis. Prediction was off a bit - I was on the predicted centerline but the track across the sun was off-center.

Another crossing was predicted for yesterday, after undocking. Would have been cool to see both vehicles, but Michigan weather prevailed.

Anyone know whether CalSky gets accurate orbital elements? Are the public elements degraded for security reasons?