ISS, Tiangong, Satellites Over Puna

[TomK]

Yes, I would definitely recommend Heavens Above as you get both the sky and ground track which helps to locate an object. If you're still on the Big Island, though, the numbers I post won't vary that much for any location here.

[TomK]

There's another bright Iridium flare on the evening of Thursday, April 13th at 19:31:02. Although not as bright as the one on April 7th, it will still appear to be a little brighter than Venus at its brightest. The center of the flare path is very similar to the April 7th event, but unfortunately, the weather forecast is not promising. On the other hand, the moon won't be up. For those wanting to try and spot the satellite before the flare, it will be moving from the north to the south.

If the sky is clear, the flare will be easy to locate. Just find Sirius in the SW and Jupiter in the East. Draw a line between them and the flare will appear in the middle of that line.

There are also a couple of decent ISS passes on the evenings of April 17th and 18th when the weather forecast is a little more promising. Details nearer the time.

[TomK]

As I mentioned, there are two bright ISS passes occurring this Monday and Tuesday evenings.

Monday 17th April: The ISS will rise in the NW just after 20:08, head over to the WSW, passing just above Orion, with the highest point at 20:11:04 at which point it will disappear as it heads into the Earth's shadow.

Sky track: https://goo.gl/jMYxeM

Tuesday 18th April: This will be easier to spot as it will be up for longer and will be a little brighter. It rises in the NNW at approx. 19:16 and heads over to the east. It will pass just below the Great Bear (you may know it as the Plough or the Big Dipper) just before it reaches its highest point at 19:19:03 before heading off to the SE where it passes close to a bright Jupiter before disappearing.

Sky track: https://goo.gl/oT6wVK

Fingers crossed for good weather!

[Midnight Rambler]

I saw an unusual one on the night of the 15th from Kauai - something passing roughly from northwest to southeast, which made several flickers of light as it passed over. I only noticed it because my eye had caught a shooting star right next to where I first spotted it. Even the flashes (which lasted only about half a second or less) were just barely on the edge of my vision; I could see some looking directly at it, but more consistently by looking just off to the side of the track, and couldn't see it at all in between. Any idea what it might have been? Something rotating?

[TomK]

Roughly what time of night was this? The reason I ask is if it was something in low earth orbit (LEO), you would only be able to see if for an hour or two after sunset or before sunrise. If it was in the middle of the night, then it almost certainly wasn't something in orbit.

The direction you mention is consistent with something in LEO.

[TomK]

OK, something a little more challenging than the ISS or Iridium flares, but not too tough; spotting the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It won't be anywhere near as bright as the ISS passes that are mentioned here, but it'll still be relatively bright, just a touch fainter than Betelgeuse, the bright orange star above Orion's Belt.

Fri April 21: Rises in the WNW at 20:13 and heads almost due east toward its highest point just below the Great Bear just after 20:17 before it then disappears into the Earth's shadow.

Sky track: https://goo.gl/ARfpMe

Sat April 22: Rises in the WNW at 20:03, heads SE (passing above Betelgeuse) to its highest point almost overhead at 20:07:30 and then heads off towards Jupiter in the west. It enters the shadow as it approaches Jupiter.

Sky track: https://goo.gl/6A8uCc

Sun April 23: Rises in the WNW at 19:53, heads ESE (passing above Betelgeuse, but closer this time) with the highest point at an elevation of 74 degrees above the horizon in the SSW at 19:57:24 before heading off towards Jupiter where again it will enter the shadow as it gets close to the planet.

Sky track: https://goo.gl/1UPr5N

There are also passes each weekday evening next week, but it's starting to get fainter then.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)... relatively bright...
Fri April 21: Rises in the WNW at 20:13

Thanks TomK,
We have beautiful, relatively clear skies this morning, so I've set my alarm. Let's hope the weather holds...

On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

A little over two hours to go, and the weather looks good for viewing the Hubble Space Telescope tonight. If we're lucky we may also see some meteors as well. The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks tomorrow night after midnight, but hopefully a few will be visible this evening as well:

https://www.lovebigisland.com/stargazing...ar/#lyrids

On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation

[TomK]

Anyone see it? Due to the clouds, I concentrated on trying to spot it as it approached the Great Bear and saw it for about 30 seconds before it went into shadow.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Anyone see it?

I didn't see it, I'm not sure if it was due to the clouds or the trees. No meteors either. But here's hoping the weather holds until tomorrow's pass.

On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation