The International Space Station Spied...At Last!!!

[Friends just call me Ross]

Three or four years ago I signed up to be notified every time the ISS flew over my house.

I had seen it go over several times, all by accidentally looking up into the night sky.

But I had never intentionally gone out to look for it.

 

Each time I get an email saying what day and time I can see the ISS, it is either cloudy

or at a time inconvenient to my sky watching. (I don't get up at three a.m. to see the ISS)

 

Yesterday, I received a message saying that the ISS would be flying over my house at 7:44 am. 

and be visible for six minutes.  It would rise up out of the west and disappear in the northeast,

reaching 42 degrees above the horizon.

 

I got up at 7:00 am and looked out the window.  AMAZINGLY, it wasn't overcast.

So, out I went to watch the ISS fly over.

The western horizon was still dark enough to see some of the brighter stars, but there was a thick

haze, so I was not sure I would see anything.  

I felt like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to appear.  

But, right at 7:44 am, there it was...in all its little speck of white glory. 

 

I stood out there in the freezing air and watched it until it vanished in the glow of dawn.

 

Then I went inside and made myself a nice hot cup of coffee.  

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by Friends just call me Ross

[hatcheckgirl]

I get awfully excited about those things too!

[New World Explorer]

23 minutes ago, hatcheckgirl said:

I get awfully excited about those things too!

The best starry sky I ever seen was in WA around 100km away from Albany.

Looked amazing, felt like seeing millions of stars ..never seen anything like it since then.

[hatcheckgirl]

On the Nullarbor Plain was amazing too! I had no idea there were so many stars to see just with the naked eye. You miss so much living in cities.

[New World Explorer]

30 minutes ago, Friends just call me Ross said:

Three or four years ago I signed up to be notified every time the ISS flew over my house.

I had seen it go over several times, all by accidentally looking up into the night sky.

But I had never intentionally gone out to look for it.

 

Each time I get an email saying what day and time I can see the ISS, it is either cloudy

or at a time inconvenient to my sky watching. (I don't get up at three a.m. to see the ISS)

 

Yesterday, I received a message saying that the ISS would be flying over my house at 7:44 am. 

and be visible for six minutes.  It would rise up out of the west and disappear in the northeast,

reaching 42 degrees above the horizon.

 

I got up at 7:00 am and looked out the window.  AMAZINGLY, it wasn't overcast.

So, out I went to watch the ISS fly over.

The western horizon was still dark enough to see some of the brighter stars, but there was a thick

haze, so I was not sure I would see anything.  

I felt like Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to appear.  

But, right at 7:44 am, there it was...in all its little speck of white glory. 

 

I stood out there in the freezing air and watched it until it vanished in the glow of dawn.

 

Then I went inside and made myself a nice hot cup of coffee.  

 

Seriously? you claim this to be ISS?

It's my donut with ISSing glaze on it flying, and how it got into the space its entirely another story ...LOL

[Qapla]

I used to know a guy who was born and raised in Jacksonville - then he moved to Gainesville to attend the UF and, before he graduated, he became a JW ... it was at that time I became acquainted with him.

 

One night we came out to my house, I do not live in the city with street lights. He was amazed! He had never seen so many stars in the sky. He just stood there and stared at the sky.

 

A few years later we traveled together "out west". We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle a couple nights in Southern Colorado. He thought he had seen a vast array of stars when he was at my house - we are a little over 150 feet above sea level (I don't live on the coast) and only about 60 miles the way light travels from all those lights in Jacksonville. Their house was between 7,500 - 8,000 feet in elevation and nowhere near any cities with lights. He was speechless when he saw the night sky!

 

Sadly, he is no longer our Brother

[Tortuga]

53 minutes ago, Friends just call me Ross said:

Three or four years ago I signed up to be notified every time the ISS flew over my house.

ISIS? 

Have you noticed a lot of black Suburbans parked in your neighborhood?

[pnutts]

Same view at KOA White River in South Dakota Badlands.  Felt like you could reach up and grab a star.

[sweetwillow58]

That is so amazing, plus to think there are people up there in that speck. Did you wave?

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

If you want, you can go online and look at yourself from the space station. Try to find these apps for your phone ISS Detector and ISS HD Live.

It will use your GPS location from your phone and give you a list of all satellites visible in the coming hours and days, and rate how bright they will be.

You can even also log onto the camera onboard to see the view from up there (currently over Russia - so it's dark... Sorry ).

It can be set to pop up a reminder on you phone 1 hour before the event too...

 

Older {waiting for wiser}

 

 

 

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Here is a pic of the view in the daylight. It will also count down to crossing over to night-time.

Older {waiting for wiser}

[Friends just call me Ross]

55 minutes ago, sweetwillow58 said:

That is so amazing, plus to think there are people up there in that speck. Did you wave?

 Yes...I have to admit it...I did wave.