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Old 12-04-2012, 12:21 PM
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Taltarzac725 Taltarzac725 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip View Post
The Villages Florida

The International Space Station was visible over central Florida on Dec. 2nd from 6:19 to 6:25 AM, headed NW to SE, then again on Dec. 3rd from 5:31 to 5:35 AM, headed NNE to ESE. The brightness on these passes (mag 3.3 and mag 2.4, respectively) were among the highest it gets. When it fades, it's moving into the earth's shadow (or behind a cloud) and just disappears.

It can be seen with the naked eye and moves at a pretty good clip especially if stars are visible too, which gives you a good stationary reference. It takes about 5 minutes to cross the sky, doing 17,239 mph. It's about 250 miles up and can't be seen in daylight or darkness, only at morning and evening dusk. The Hubble Telescope (and other smaller satellites) can also be seen, but theyr'e not nearly as bright as reflection off the panels on the ISS.

The next bright pass (mag 3.5) of the ISS is on Sunday, Dec. 9th from 6:40 to 6:45 PM (not AM) headed SW to NE and goes almost directly overhead.

Best to stay away from street lights and find a dark area for the best view.

Class dismissed!

Skip
Now an IFO-- identified flying object.