ISS, Tiangong, Satellites Over Puna

[TomK]

Think I'm going to try spotting the Hubble Space Telescope next. It can be seen early morning most of March but early in the morning which doesn't exist in my world. In late March it starts becoming visible in the early evening. Don't think I've ever knowingly seen it, but it can be seen from the ground if you know when and where to look.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Iridium flare in the sky over the Hi-Seas dome on Mauna Loa:

https://mobile.twitter.com/hi_seas/statu...7091840000

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[TomK]

If the sky is clear this Sunday evening, an extremely bright Iridium flare will be visible for a few seconds in lower HPP, more specifically, Kaloli Point.

Predicted to occur at 18:47:41 for my location, magnitude -8.2 (which is very bright, almost directly north and at an elevation above the horizon of 56 degrees.

It should be visible in other Puna locations, but as I mentioned above a small change in location makes a big difference, so if you're interested use the Heavens Above site for your own location. You can use the map they have to drag the marker to your place and it'll do all the work for you (don't forget to hit the update button afterwards).

[TomK]

I'm not having a good run of space-related predictions recently, they always seem to be clouded out. So I think from now on I'll only provide predictions after the event so I can make sure the sky was clear at the time...

[PunaMauka2]

Now my head hurts.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

No Iridium flares visible over HPP tonight, but if you're up at 10:30 PM the European Space Agency will begin their live broadcast of a joint ESA-Russian satellite launch to Mars. Lift off is at 11:30. If successful, the mission will travel to Mars in a blistering fast 7 months, and once inserted into orbit around the red planet (now visible before dawn in Hawaii*), begin atmosphere analysis, and tests of a lander for phase 2. Phase 2 will launch a few years from now, set down on the planet's surface and conduct tests for signs of life. Exciting stuff.

You can watch the launch live on your computer in Puna* (as HI-SEAS continues their year long experiments for living on Mars on the slopes of Mauna Loa*) at:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_...ars_launch

* unabashed attempt to stretch this into a Puna, Hawaii & Mars related topic

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

[TomK]

Thanks, HOTPE. I knew the launch was soon but didn't realize it was tonight. Think I'll still be awake to watch!

[TomK]

"Now my head hurts."

Sorry about that, PM2, but I'm simply resorting to standard astrological techniques for making predictions. Think of it as a backup plan.

[TomK]

I'm watching the live video in HOTPE's link:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_...ars_launch

Have to admit ESA's PR department are top notch. NASA are good at this as well, but I think ESA has the edge right now. Only problem I have is the drop-outs of the video due to local sources. Oh well, can't have everything...

[TomK]

OK, so ESA has the edge on NASA when it comes to pre-launch PR, but NASA definitely wins on post-launch coverage for rocket launches.

It hasn't blown up yet, but not a lot more than that. Think I'll catch up later...