Atlantis pics yet anyone?

[kinetic (Steve)]

I couldn't find a thread so I put mine here

This morning's sighting opportunity 10 July 2011-Adelaide

The only problem is...I didn't get it!
I got an Iridium 2 mins before the ISS pass (PIC1)
Then I got the ISS(PIC2)
Then I got a strange grouping of 3 satellites in tight formation (PIC3)
going West to NW along the approx path of where Atlantis would
be going in another 15mins. Very faint, bottom left of pic.

Atlantis was obscured by a bank of cloud that arrived just before 06:35 LT

Steve

[von Tom (Tom)]

Hi Steve,
Bad luck on the Atlantis this morning. Those three satellites were probably NOSS 2-1 C, D and E (http://www.satobs.org/noss.html), US military Naval Ocean Surveillance System satellites orbiting in formation. CalSky has them passing about 16 min prior to Atlantis at Adelaide.

Tom

[koputai (Jason)]

Good pickup on the NOSS's Steve! I've tried a number of times to catch them but have always been thwarted.

Apparently people are now seeing the ISS in broad daylight as it is so bright. When the shuttle is docked it's generally even brighter (well, similar brightness but larger) so should be even easier to spot.

I'd reckon you'd need very clear unpolluted skies to see it in daylight, but you seem to be out and about a bit so you might get lucky.

Cheers,
Jason.

[naskies (Dave)]

I also stayed up late on July 10th to catch a glimpse of the ISS/Atlantis, but only just saw this thread.

I used NASA's Skywatch website to calculate the location and times of when they would be visible... except I had the red/yellow colours for visibility confused and pointed my camera in the wrong part of the sky

The photos didn't turn out particularly well (but it was an impressive sight in the sky):

* ISS trail starts just before the left edge of the photo (very faint - a bit higher than the power lines)

* Atlantis trail (left edge of frame) merged from four 10 second exposures

* Atlantis trail (horizontal line in centre of frame) as it traveled past Jupiter

[Troy]

Good captures Steve