December 15, 2000

3:16 AM

The International Space Station is becoming one of the brightest, fastest moving objects in the night sky. This photo is a 5 minute time exposure taken from the ground which shows the station clearly as an arc across the sky. If you look closer you can actually see two arcs, the other being that of the space shuttle Endeavour which had just undocked and was pulling away. If you would like to know when you can see it for yourself, try using this handy calculator. via APOD
posted by lagado (3 comments total)

The calculator isn't working on my end - any one get it to come up? I'm getting the dreaded image placeholder.
posted by acridrabbit at 10:26 AM on December 15, 2000

Remember, space stations in the rear view mirror may appear larger than they actually are...
posted by wendell at 11:00 AM on December 15, 2000

HeavensAbove has a much better way for you to find not just the ISS, but all the major satellites and Iridium flares (even the daytime ones). Their location database is amazingly huge, as it had not just Athens, GA, but specific neighborhoods within, as well as the tiny country "town" where my house is. A few miles in any direction makes a difference with the predictions, so you want to be accurate.

With the info HeavensAbove gave me, I observed the ISS before and after the solar arrays were unfurled and watched as the shuttle pulled away after undocking.

Now if I had a telescope in my yard as powerful as the NORAD space junk telescope I observed through one night a few years ago, I probably could have seen the individual astronauts as they spacewalked.
posted by ewagoner at 11:38 AM on December 15, 2000