I have recently been watching the ISS go over Maine .,.,I wondered how many of you go out to see it on a regular basis.,.,and where you are.,.,thank you for your responses,.,,O+O

I still check it out every once in awhile. It gets kind of old hat after you've seen it a few times.

-Jim

 "Old hat"? Each time the ISS passes over head it presents a new face and visual experience. Every time I've watched it has been a pleasure.

You must get easily bored. How about the Milkyway? It doesn't change much from night to night.

How can you compare the ISS to the Milky Way? Please explain. Everytime i've seen the ISS, it's pretty much looked the same. Maybe i'm missing something?

-Jim

I have enjoyed seeing it .,.,knowing what it was,., and that there are men and woman up there making history.,.,.while the rest of us are down here going through our daily routines,..the past 2 wks. it has preceeded our stargazing and given us an excuse to get our coats on and go out a little early,.,. to enjoy the air and the peace and quiet of our dirt,.,{muddy} road..,,O+O

I've seen the ISS many times but when I think about its ridiculous final price tag and how little meaningful science will actually be accomplished there when it's finished I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed the experience.

Dave Mitsky

 http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/

www.heavens-above.com

I've also heard of astronomers being able to take pictures of the ISS and show detail on the station.

Have a look at these amateur images of the ISS:

http://www.iss-tracking.de/images/stationpic.html

http://www.astrosurf.com/legault/iss_atlantis_transit.html

http://pictures.ed-morana.com/ISSTransits/

http://www.astronomycamerasblog.com/2009/01/30/iss-images-by-laurent-langelez/

Dave Mitsky

Here's a link that shows the orbital position of the ISS with respect to the Earth.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/

Dave Mitsky

 I'm in Maine myself; Portland,Maine area. I look every chance i get and saw the ISS and Shuttle flying in tandem the last mission.To me its fascinating trying to find them in my night sky.I use www.heavens-above.com for ISS and shuttle predictions and it hasnt failed me yet.CraterDavy write or post your addy please so I can email you.Best Wishes>>>JIM

Here's a great ISS image from the Astronomy.com Online Reader Gallery.

http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/photos/other/picture407961.aspx

Dave Mitsky

There was a rather interesting image of the ISS on the APOD yesterday.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090410.html

At a distance of 350 kilometers, a six-foot tall spacewalking astronaut would subtend almost exactly one arc second. 

Dave Mitsky

Dave, 

Very interesting picture of the astronaut. It adds dimension to how large the ISS really is. Also, was amazed by the picture of shuttle Atlantis departing the ISS with the Sun has a background. Thanks for the web sites for locating the ISS. I will find it!!!!

 CG

CG,

You're welcome.

Dave Mitsky

Looked when it first was up there, then sort of forgot about it. Have a look when something like this reminds me.
I tend to look for the position on heavens-above. The site also lists/predicts where the tool bag will be that they lost. Bit more of a challenge to locate.

Thank you Dave for all the great links,.,.It seems as soon as I started this poll the ISS changed course and I haven't gotten to see it since,..,.I haven't seen the toolbag either.,.,,.,O+O

alright.,.,it's back,..the iss is back over my area in the am. now,..,saw it this morning for 4 mins.,.,.,very bright.,.79*high,..the" heavens above "website is great,.,.very good maps of the iss's paths..,,the stars were also great this am.,..,could see from the bootes.,.,to pegasus,.,.and it was a balmy 35*.,.,.spring has sprung in Maine.,.,.,O+O

ISS? Heck! I'm happy with anything that streaks past my FOV. Last night I was out viewing with my 70mm binos around the bowl of Ursa Major and caught a satellite travelling due south from around M81. I followed it for about 60 seconds during which time it travelled about 45° until the top of my house obscured the view. Slow moving (comparitively) and steady dot of light. Probably around 8th magnitude or so.

If I could have watched it another 5 minutes I would have. I love that stuff.

I would really really really  love to get an image capture of the ISS in front of the sun or moon. Hmmm, come to think of it, I would love to get any decent image capture of it. You know the type of picture that you see on Spaceweather.com every few weeks....

Oh yeah, just a final note FYI....Spaceweather.com has the easiest (IMHO) satellite program out there. It's called "Satellite Flybys" and is located on the right hand side of their webpage. Their Simple Satellite Tracker is the best. Just plug in your zip code and it will compile a printable list of Satellites including name, transit start, transit finish, maximum elevation, magnitude, location ect...

Very accurate and always updated.

sample: http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys/flybys.php?zip=19038