Wicked early Saturday morning I had an astronomical viewing experience that almost rivaled the wonderful week in Wyoming at the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop (no pictures, this time, though). Living in New York City, we have about 30 stars, so in the three weeks I’ve been back, I haven’t seen much of anything in the night skies (well, at least not in comparison with the stunning views of everything from the very dark Wyoming countryside).
This weekend, however, we were upstate, visiting Kit’s cousins, Lynn and Bob Dennison, in Kingston. For some reason, before we left, I remembered to check NASA’s sightings page for the weekend we’d be there. It turned out that the International Space Station would be visible, and not just a low-level, fast, dim pass, but a three-minute (among the longest possible), high elevation (peaking at 79° above the horizon), bright (minutes before dawn) overflight. The only problem was that it was going to be at 4:50 in the morning (and I am most emphatically not a morning person). Nevertheless, we talked Lynn, Bob, and their son Chris (their other son, Andy, was out of town), into joining us, and set our alarms for 4:30 in the morning (that’s the dark one, when I’m usually heading to bed).
We managed to wake on time, get out of bed, put on some clothes, and get outside about 4:40. It was a remarkable pre-dawn sky, with the very last of the old Moon brightly holding up the new Moon (also visible) low in the eastern sky. I couldn’t see the Milky Way, but thanks to my Wyoming trip, I recognized Cassiopeia. And thanks to Alice Henderson pointing it out a couple of times, I remembered where the Andromeda galaxy is, in relation to Cassiopeia. I managed to see it through my binoculars—the first time I’ve seen it from this time zone!
A few minutes before the ISS was due overhead, we saw another satellite pass overhead in an equatorial orbit, which was great practice for everyone else (who had a little less satellite viewing experience). Then, at 4:48, my alarm warned me to pay attention to the west-southwest sky. And then we saw this really bright, fast moving thing. It was definitely the ISS. Apparent magnitude had to be at least 0, possibly even -1, and it zoomed up to its maximum elevation in nothing flat. Then it was a slow descent, and an even slower fade, into the rising sun, feeling like it was going to stay visible forever. I’m still not sure if I actually saw more than just a dot through my binoculars, or if it was just my imagination painting in those 50-by-100 meters (I’ve got 10 x 50 binoculars), but whether I did or didn’t, it was an incredible sight, which we all shared.
Then, after applauding the station (Kit says she waved), I turned around for a look at Jupiter, riding high and bright (though not quite as bright as the ISS), and immediately picked up three of the Galilean moons in my binoculars.
All in all, a remarkable pre-dawn astronomical viewing session. Then, fortunately, we were all able to get some more sleep, so that Saturday wasn’t a total waste.
I highly recommend, if you are or are planning to be in a very dark location, check for ISS sighting opportunities, and take some time to go look at the stars.
Thanks, Lynn and Bob.