The Last ISS/Endeavor Pass

UPDATE: Okay, I bumped this up since someone on facebook pointed out a really cool part of this pic that I missed. Shortly after the shuttle leaves the ISS, it performs a water dump before returning to Earth. Look closely right beneath the trails and you can see a hazy region in the sky. That's the water dump going on! I see it better in the later pictures instead of the one that is zoomed in. Click on the pics to get the larger version. It doesn't show up as well on the smaller versions.

I have taken lots of photos of the ISS and various shuttles over the year. Either right before docking or right after undocking, you can see them flying together in the night sky. This flight is Endeavors last, so I dragged myself out of bed really early this morning for a 3:19am flyby. I got a couple of shots, but made the rookie mistake of not checking the f stop so they pics came out a little darker than they should have.

The top streak is the ISS and the bottom is Endeavor. Notice there is a bright spot toward the left on the ISS streak. Sometimes the sun glints off the solar panels causing a quick brightening of the ISS. This photo is the first time I have captured this phenomena. And here is the next shot, a wide angle version.

Some of you might get one more chance to see Endeavor and the ISS tonight. Check Heavens Above to see if your location is favored. I don't get another pass here in Tucson. There is only one shuttle flight left. Won't know who is favored for that one until it blasts off.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.