ISS above London 3

May 21, 2009 00:56 by scibuff

The ISS made another pass over London. Once again, after almost two months, my Nokia N96 was ready to capture the event.

Currently, we are almost at the end of ca 40 day period during which the ISS is visible in London either shortly after the sunset or just before the sunrise. The last visible pass until June 22 will be on Tuesday, May 26 with maximum -0.2mag at 21:23 BST (UT+1). However, today was the last time the station reached -2.4mag until 03:57 BST on June 29. The animated sequence below shows the ISS around the time of maximum visual brightness passing through the constellations of Gemini, Cancer and Leo Minor (no stars are visible).

ISS during a pass above London on May 20, 2009

ISS during a pass above London on May 20, 2009

For more information about (visible) passes of ISS, and satellites, not only in London but for any place on Earth, visit heavens above website.

The ground track of ISS (orbit #60142) - The dashed part of the orbit path shows where the satellite is in the earth's shadow, and the full part is where it is sunlit - Source: Heavens-Above.com

The ground track of ISS (orbit #60142) - The dashed part of the orbit path shows where the satellite is in the earth's shadow, and the full part is where it is sunlit - Source: Heavens-Above.com

ISS above London 2

March 21, 2009 22:12 by scibuff

The International Space Station made another great fly over London a few hours ago (19:24 UT). At the maximum brightness (-2.4mag), the station overshone any other object in the sky. Observing conditions were slightly worse tonight than yesterday, nevertheless, the image sequence below is a little better than the composite from my last pos (ISS above London).

ISS flies above London reaching -2.4 mag. at 19:23:35UT on March 20, 2009

ISS flies above London reaching -2.4 mag. at 19:23:35UT on March 20, 2009

The ISS will make a several great appearances over London in the next few days ( 7 passed brighter than -2.0 mag in the next week). The next visible pass during which the station will reach -2.3mag, will occur tomorrow at 19:47:52 UT. Monday offers two remarkable fly-overs (starting at 18:39:41UT and 20:15:08UT) each reaching -2.3 mag. More information about the current position as well as fly-over predictions for ISS (and many other objects) are available at Heavens Above.