The FastDay Forum

Imcountingufoz - no, not a streak like a shooting star but a bright steady light moving across the sky in about five minutes. Tomorrow's good pass starts at 20:43, in the west, and goes overhead to set in the east at 20:50. If the skies are clear you will not mistake it but the times are important - it will not be there before or after if you miss it by a few minutes. There will be another pass at 22:20 which will only last 3 minutes and not quite so bright. Good luck!

Just seen it. but not at the times you suggested in the first post. It was visible for 4 minutes from 21.35 very bright and high in the sky.
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/si ... on=England

That's right, the one you saw was the pass after the one I referenced. It takes approx 90 minutes to come round again.

Bit puzzled by the NASA link, which gives only four minutes viewing of the ISS as against possibly 8 minutes on the link I give. I've certainly seen it for 8 minutes on a good pass - which, weather permitting, should happen again tomorrow night at 2041.

Imcountingufoz - no, not a streak like a shooting star but a bright steady light moving across the sky in about five minutes. Tomorrow's good pass starts at 20:43, in the west, and goes overhead to set in the east at 20:50. If the skies are clear you will not mistake it but the times are important - it will not be there before or after if you miss it by a few minutes. There will be another pass at 22:20 which will only last 3 minutes and not quite so bright. Good luck!

Thank you for this! I will look out for it tomorrow. Fingers crossed for clear skies above Hampshire!

Breadandwine - the later passes are always briefer as the ISS moves into the earth's shadow before reaching the horizon and hence stops reflecting sunlight.
I missed it yesterday - the sky was still too bright for the early pass, and I was in the pub for the later one!

Yeh, I get that, Pete - but 4 minutes is still too short - IMO!

Love the pub excuse! I'm fasting today, so no alcohol for me until 7.30 - and not even then if I decide to extend the fast.

However, the weekend beckons - and I've just racked off 40 pints of home-made stout!

Cheers, B&W

Caught tonight's second pass - brightened up nicely as it passed by the moon. First pass was too cloudy in Leics. Anybody else get lucky?

A friend sent me this link last night - it's wonderful, take a look - it's a link to a Time-lapse video from the ISS - entitled Alone at Night - it's beautiful.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200117620038015

I was lucky with the first one and alerted the neighbours. Missed the second one, I was otherwise engaged!

There are still some reasonable views to be had over the next week - before it moves away again for a while - so keep an eye out for it!

Thanks to this thread, hubby and I watched it make a very clear pass right over our heads. We live on the coast in SE Kent and the conditions were perfect! Thank you so much

Thanks for that link, Suchard, very beautiful!

Another chance tonight from 2127 - it disappears over the Franco/German/Austrian border(s) at around 2134. (That's a bit of a guess.)


Good luck everyone! Only two more real chances this series of passes - and they're both on the early side.

Thanks for that link, Suchard, very beautiful!

Another chance tonight from 2127 - it disappears over the Franco/German/Austrian border(s) at around 2134. (That's a bit of a guess.)


Good luck everyone! Only two more real chances this series of passes - and they're both on the early side.

Hi there bit of a novice at this! If i go into the back garden and look up will I see it or do I have to be looking in a certain direction. It's far away so could I see it wherever I am?

Look towards the West, the brightest 'star' will be the planet Jupiter - ISS will pass this around 21:31, heading towards the moon and beyond. Good luck with the clouds!

I hope others had as good a view of it as I did tonight - beautiful clear sky - with the ISS at its (almost) brightest!

Because the spring is so late this year, the tree that usually shields my initial view of the ISS still has no leaves, so I was able to see it about 2129 - then it passed almost overhead, and continued SE for several more minutes. I guess I had it in view for about 5-6 minutes until it went into shadow.

Next real chance is tomorrow night at 2036, then at 2032 on the 21st.

Yay we saw it!!! Nice clear sky in my part of the world. Slower than I thought it would be. Having seen Suchard's link to video I could imagine what it was 'seeing' -eerily beautiful.

Congratulations - it was cloudy in the midlands and I only caught a glimpse as it passes the moon, which just popped out of the clouds at the right time!