Spotting the ISS .. any suggestions

[narky (Sam)]

Hi everyone,
Last night I noticed on Stellarium that the ISS was going to pass rather close to the moon. So i positioned my telescope (4inch shorty refractor) and waited.

I noticed the ISS very brightly rising up from the horizon in the west (just using my eyes).. but sadly, once it got about 1/2 way to the moon it dissappeared. (This was just after 9PM last night).

Firstly, I assume this is because the ISS was moving out of the light of the sun?

If that's the case, is my only hope of ever catching it when it comes from the West and not to far after sun set? Is there any way to know when it will be clearly visible?

Last night was the first time i've ever seen it, hoping it won't be the last. All the ISS tracking websites I've seen will show you when/where it'll arrive, but I've yet to notice any that indicate brightness.

[astroron (Ron)]

HI Sam, try heavens above
http://www.heavens-above.com/
It gives all the details
Cheer

[narky (Sam)]

Thanks Ron, guess I didn't click on all the links there last night.
Didn't even see the ones that have magnitude listed. Guess I'll check the bright ones out and see how I go. For the most part do they generally start bright and get dimmer, or are they often bright across the whole sky .. do the seasons come into play ?

[astroron (Ron)]

Hi Sam it usually depends on the a couple of main things ,
one the hight of the satellite and two how far the Sun is below the horizon.
when the satellite goes into the earth's shadow the the satellite will go
gradually dimmer and then go out of view.
sometimes you can follow the satellite from horizon to horizon.
The higher a satellite is the later in the night you may be able to see it ,but these are only faint and can be seen in your telescope or binoculars.

cheers

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by narky

Thanks Ron, guess I didn't click on all the links there last night.
Didn't even see the ones that have magnitude listed. Guess I'll check the bright ones out and see how I go. For the most part do they generally start bright and get dimmer, or are they often bright across the whole sky .. do the seasons come into play ?

Sydney has pretty good passes in the evenings of 14/15/16th.

If only the weather would come to the party.

[erick (Eric)]

Heavens-above gives great information - print the maps showing the pass. I once showed a group of young ones the ISS passing high above. They were impressed. BUT they were more impressed when (with a carefully synchronised watch on the side and careful attention to Heavens-above) I counted down from ten and at zero it faded off into the earth's shadow!

[Osirisra (Ken)]

Originally Posted by erick

They were impressed. BUT they were more impressed when (with a carefully synchronised watch on the side and careful attention to Heavens-above) I counted down from ten and at zero it faded off into the earth's shadow!

Nice one

[tonybarry (Tony)]

You might wish to try Calsky

www.calsky.de

Can tell you when the ISS transits the sun, moon, bright stars, gives you the centreline on a google map of a particular transit ... a great site.

Regards,
Tony Barry

[chris1420 (Christophe)]

Has anyone ever tried to follow ISS with a dob? Is it possible to see any detail?

[astroron (Ron)]

Chris and See my post here in the observation threads
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=64838
Cheers

[chris1420 (Christophe)]

Originally Posted by astroron

Chris and See my post here in the observation threads
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=64838
Cheers

Thanks Ron. I've got to try that. It can't be easy considering how fast ISS is moving.

Chris

[narky (Sam)]

Thanks again everyone .. gives me some hope.