IP: Not Anthrax: - Californians can see the Space Station tonight!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 09:12:00 -0700
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> From: "Joseph C. Pistritto" <jcp () jcphome com>
> Subject: Not Anthrax: - Californians can see the Space Station tonight!
>
> In case you've never seen a satellite before from the ground, or live in a 
> big city, now's your chance if you live on the west coast. The pass will 
> go directly overhead San Francisco and then basically down highway 5 past 
> San Diego and into Baja California.  So almost anyone in California should 
> be able to see it clearly.  ISS is bright enough that if you can see the 
> sky, you can even see it in San Francisco or LA for the most part.
>
> Look straight up at 7:09 PM Pacific tonight.  It wont be completely dark 
> then, but ISS is bright enough.  You'll probably think you're seeing an 
> airplane.
>
> It will appear about 7:07 near the end of the "handle" of the big Dipper 
> and progress to a point straight over head (85 degrees up) at 7:09:40.
> I observed the pass last night which wasn't as good and it was right on 
> time.  Watch it when its approaching overhead, you'll see it brighten 
> dramatically a couple of times.  Those are sun glints off the solar 
> arrays.  They were very bright last night, almost doubling the brightness 
> of the object.
>
> A description of the pass is at:
> http://platec.gsoc.dlr.de/ion/ion-p.exe?page=iss%5Cissobs.ion&lo=-122.3086&la=37.5083&t=24%2DOct%2D2001+01%3A49%3A42&zone=-7.00
>
> www.heavens-above.com is a great site for figuring out what you can see 
> from your location.  Its run by the German Space Operations Agency.
>
> ISS is now the brightest of all the satellites and the easiest to 
> view.   Tonight there will be a Soyuz capsule from the recent launch from 
> Russia with a French cosmonaut on board.  You will be looking at the home 
> of the only 6 people living off the surface of the earth.  (ISS normally 
> has a crew of 3 but the other 3 are visiting to exchange Soyuz capsules at 
> the station.  The new group of 3 arrived today and will be leaving next week).
>
>
>
> Joseph C. Pistritto                             Cell: 650 464 4859
> jcp () jcphome com                             Web: www.jcphome.com


For archives see:
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/