Date: 20 Aug 2007 11:08:51
From: Jim Hewitt
Subject: Triple Spacecraft Sighting
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Greetings,
Last night at 22:10-ish Mountain Daylight Time in Boise, Idaho, I observed
the ISS/Shuttle pair as they passed by, not quite overhead.
I have watched numerous ISS and Shuttle passes and have been excited to
watch this particular one with our own Barbara Morgan (astronaut/teacher)
aboard. I have even watched a few passes through a small telescope - very
interesting to see structure!
But last night's sighting was more unusual. I was waiting to see the ISS
rise, which I expected to preceed the shutle since the Endeavor had undocked
earlier in the day. I suddenly found "it" a little higher in the sky than I
expected but along the expected flight path. Perhaps I noticed it so late
because it was dimmer, perhaps mag 3 when it was predicted to be mag -1. I
watched it move slowly across the sky and even managed to get a 4.5" Dob on
it a few times. Interestingly I could not see the solar panels or any
detail as I had just the two previous nights. Nor could I see the shutle
anywhere... even though it was moving to the southeast.
I expressed my disappointment to my wife who was watching with me when she
looked to the west and said, "Then what are those?" Sure enough, a brighter
ISS followed by a slightly dimmer shuttle were tracking along the expected
flight path. The shuttle was perhaps 5 degrees (about 7 seconds time-wise)
behind the ISS. I did get the Dob onto the ISS to see the solar panels and
then left it pointing at one location to let the shuttle catch up and pass
through the field of view. Sure enough, the shuttle had a slight teardrop
shape.
So now the big mystery: what was the mag 3 object that preceeded the
ISS/shuttle pair by about a minute, maybe minute and a half??? I checked
Heavens-Above and it listed nothing but the ISS/shuttle at that time in that
location. Without any way to prove it, I would say the first object was in
the "same"orbit as the ISS - could it be a Progress re-supply ship? I
really wouldn't expect to see one near the ISS when the shuttle is
manoevering so close.
Regardless of what it was, it was very exciting to see THREE spacecraft at
once. I just hope the first one was a "friendly" one... ;-}
Jim Hewitt
Boise, ID
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