Tonight, Racine is particularly favored for a good pass of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. Both of them will be brighter than Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky). And the Weather Underground indicates a good chance of clear skies tonight.
The ISS passes first. It will appear low in the southwest at 7:46pm and pass very high in the southest (almost overhead) at 7:49pm. It will be followed by the Space Shuttle at 8:09. The Shuttle will follow a similar path (remember, it is going to catch up to and dock with the ISS in a couple of days, it had better be chasing the Station!)
This Shuttle mission is going to install a new set of solar panels. Solar panels are large and reflect a lot of light. You should notice the ISS get noticeably brighter after this misison.
You can always find the latest predictions at Heavens-Above or Spaceweather's Simple Satellite Tracker.
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6 comments:
Thanks, I just visited heavens-above the other evening and noticed that the shuttle was delayed. I thought I heard about the mission to hook up with the ISS. I'll have to remember to take a peek.
It is really cool when you can see one following the other in the sky at the same time. Sounds like they will be too far apart this time around.
I didn't see the space station, but I caught the shuttle. Kinda neat, looked like a star moving across the sky. Anybody else see it?
drewzepmeister-
I just saw it too. I wasn't sure if that was it until I read this.
I *think* I saw it......
drug the boy out to see them, he was quite impressed with the sight. was all good till i locked my keys in the truck. (DOH)
When I lived in Florida, I knew the owners of a restaurant on the beach. When I ate at the outside tables around sunset, they would always give me a free desert for pointing out the Space Station/Shuttle/Iridium flares to the people on the patio.
Mmm...key lime pie!
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