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Launch Visibility
by
Celeritas
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:30
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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?
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#1
by
dbhyslop
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:30
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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.
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#2
by
MTAS
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:30
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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
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#3
by
39B
on 09 Jun, 2007 14:01
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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/
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#4
by
MKremer
on 09 Jun, 2007 14:27
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#5
by
Chris Bergin
on 09 Jun, 2007 14:29
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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).
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#6
by
39B
on 09 Jun, 2007 14:42
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> 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
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#7
by
39B
on 09 Jun, 2007 14:44
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> 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!
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#8
by
SpaceCat
on 09 Jun, 2007 16:22
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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!
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#9
by
askbill
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:30
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This was my view from just over 11 miles, in Titusville, directly across the river. Enjoy!
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#10
by
kevwalsh
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:31
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Just saw them pass directly overhead (Ireland), about 10 minutes between them: Atlantis does look as if she is catching up ;-) Great sight!
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#11
by
Celeritas
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:30
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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.
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#12
by
Ankle-bone12
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:31
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I'll be seeing them both later tonite as well. here in Minnesota
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#13
by
Chris Bergin
on 09 Jun, 2007 23:29
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All can go in here, as we don't need three threads on it, and I should have set this up before.
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#14
by
Avron
on 10 Jun, 2007 03:16
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My live view of the launch.. I watched... the pan on the camera was pure luck..
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#15
by
rdale
on 10 Jun, 2007 03:22
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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
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#16
by
kneecaps
on 10 Jun, 2007 12:08
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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?
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#17
by
psloss
on 10 Jun, 2007 13:04
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#18
by
gbiguy
on 10 Jun, 2007 14:42
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#19
by
psloss
on 10 Jun, 2007 17:10
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