Hi All, I would keep an eye on the NASA Skywatch applet at: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/SSapplications/Post/JavaSSOP/JavaSSOP.html I would expect STS-130 to get added to the satellites as launch approaches. It will give the altitude and azimuth. You can edit the variables to show passes lower than 10 degrees elevation. Cheers, Dan Laszlo www.ncastro.org Fort Collins CO USA -----Original Message----- From: Skywayinc@aol.com To: SeeSat-L@satobs.org Sent: Sun, Jan 31, 2010 9:27 pm Subject: A Question about visiblity of STS-130 on Orbit #1 A friend of mine who lives in the Washington, D.C. area sent me an E-Mail about the prospective visibility of Endeavour in his area after the scheduled 4:38 a.m. EST launch next Sunday. Among his questions was this: "But I'm still not sure about Feb. 7 and 8 (Endeavour docks 130AM or so Feb. 9th). I doubt they are much better, but we're running out of chances to see the orbiters undocked. I'm hoping someone who can chart the alt./az. for the shuttle during ascent might have some thoughts on whether it might be visible after the first orbit, too. Ninety minutes after launch (4:39 AM) on Feb. 7, Endeavour should be coming around again shortly after 6:09 AM, presumably to the west of us. That's still twilight for the most of the East Coast -- any thoughts on whether we might get to see it then?" Here was my response: Hi Jim -- I've been thinking about that as well . . . I think that Endeavour will have an orbital altitude of about 140 statute miles on its first flyover and it might even be a minute or two earlier than 6:09 (at that initial low Earth orbital insertion, its orbital period might be closer to 89 or even 88 minutes). The angle of illumination, however, should be very favorable; remember, the Sun will be coming up in the east-southeast and Endeavour will be reaching its highest altitude (for us) over in the west-northwest . . . so it should be broadside to the rising Sun and almost fully illuminated. Considering the fact that this all happens about an hour before sunrise means that it should be readily visible. Only concern I think, is the altitude; at 140-miles, it's probably going to be 10-degrees or less at its highest above our local horizons (I live just north of NYC). If that be the case, neither NASA Realtime data or Heavens Above will provide a listing. Nonetheless, all this could be a moot point, since latest computer forecasts are suggesting a major storm along the Middle Atlantic coast next Sunday. -- joe Anyone on SeeSat-L have an opinion on this? -- joe rao ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html -----Original Message----- From: Skywayinc@aol.com To: SeeSat-L@satobs.org Sent: Sun, Jan 31, 2010 9:27 pm Subject: A Question about visiblity of STS-130 on Orbit #1 A friend of mine who lives in the Washington, D.C. area sent me an E-Mail about the prospective visibility of Endeavour in his area after the scheduled 4:38 a.m. EST launch next Sunday. Among his questions was this: "But I'm still not sure about Feb. 7 and 8 (Endeavour docks 130AM or so Feb. 9th). I doubt they are much better, but we're running out of chances to see the orbiters undocked. I'm hoping someone who can chart the alt./az. for the shuttle during ascent might have some thoughts on whether it might be visible after the first orbit, too. Ninety minutes after launch (4:39 AM) on Feb. 7, Endeavour should be coming around again shortly after 6:09 AM, presumably to the west of us. That's still twilight for the most of the East Coast -- any thoughts on whether we might get to see it then?" Here was my response: Hi Jim -- I've been thinking about that as well . . . I think that Endeavour will have an orbital altitude of about 140 statute miles on its first flyover and it might even be a minute or two earlier than 6:09 (at that initial low Earth orbital insertion, its orbital period might be closer to 89 or even 88 minutes). The angle of illumination, however, should be very favorable; remember, the Sun will be coming up in the east-southeast and Endeavour will be reaching its highest altitude (for us) over in the west-northwest . . . so it should be broadside to the rising Sun and almost fully illuminated. Considering the fact that this all happens about an hour before sunrise means that it should be readily visible. Only concern I think, is the altitude; at 140-miles, it's probably going to be 10-degrees or less at its highest above our local horizons (I live just north of NYC). If that be the case, neither NASA Realtime data or Heavens Above will provide a listing. Nonetheless, all this could be a moot point, since latest computer forecasts are suggesting a major storm along the Middle Atlantic coast next Sunday. -- joe Anyone on SeeSat-L have an opinion on this? -- joe rao ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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