ISS Sightings May 21 2018 - Houston to Albany

May 10, 2018

After the ISS passes over Bon Echo in Hamilton Ontario Canada on the evenings of both May 20 and 21, it will continue to be lighted by the sun as it crosses the Atlantic Ocean. It will pass over southern France and Italy on the mornings of May 21 and 22. I hope someone can wake up early enough to join us in Waymarking these two Passes.

Check the GMT time and date closely. There is a difference of 1 day and 1 hour between the two photos.

May 11, 2018

Adding another possibility.

May 17, 2018

Updated predictions for my locations.

Date    Brightnes    Start       Highest point    End                              Pass type
                (mag)    Time    Alt.        Az.    Time    Alt.    Az.                 Time    Alt.    Az.
20 May   -2.9   23:19:05   10°   WSW   23:22:17   50° NNW   23:25:28   10°   NE       visible
21 May   -3.9   22:26:44   10°   WSW   22:30:00   85°   NNW   22:33:17   10°   ENE   visible
22 May   -3.7   21:34:37   10°   SW        21:37:48   52°   SE   21:41:00   10°   ENE   visible
24 May   -3.5   21:26:27   10°   WSW   21:29:42   70°   NNW   21:32:58   10°   NE      visible

May 18, 2018

Bon Echo, I'm still available, and I'm currently traveling for a meeting on Saturday, May 19. I'm planning to travel and be on site to observe the ISS Pass on May 20 and May 21 from West Texas as described in a previous post of May 10. Times and Altitude have shifted a little, but I'm still good to go.

Someone mentioned a friend in Chicago area. Are they joining us? I have a friend who will be traveling through Indiana on the 21st and will be available. He's too far south for the 20th.

May 18, 2018

10 hours ago, 8Nuts MotherGoose said:

Bon Echo, I'm still available, and I'm currently traveling for a meeting on Saturday, May 19. I'm planning to travel and be on site to observe the ISS Pass on May 20 and May 21 from West Texas as described in a previous post of May 10. Times and Altitude have shifted a little, but I'm still good to go.

Someone mentioned a friend in Chicago area. Are they joining us? I have a friend who will be traveling through Indiana on the 21st and will be available. He's too far south for the 20th.

Thanks! I contacted The Snowdog and they said they are still interested, and the evening passes on the 21st and 22 work for them. It's looking like weather might be a factor for me with rain in the forecast. "Cloudy Periods" and "Chance of Showers" for the weekend here. Hopefully at least one of those 4 evenings will be clear enough. I'm going to recommend that The Snowdog and I try for both the 20th and 21st and hopefully we are each successful on at least one of those. I'm happy with just one ISS WM for this round, hopeful it will be the 21st since it will be so close to directly overhead.

May 20, 2018

I just checked France, Spain, and Portugal.

On the morning of May 21, it will be viewable from Guimaraes, Portugal at Max Alt of 59° to the NNE at 04:36:11. Weather may be a factor with 20% chance of rain.

On the morning of May 22, It will be viewable as far north as Châtellerault, France at Max Alt of 46° to the SSW at 04:44:39. Weather may be a factor with 70% cloud cover and 50% chance of rain.

Both of the above ISS Passes are the same passes as Bon Echo has listed for May 20 and May 21 in Hamilton, Ontario.

I will also be viewing these two passes from Texas and am available to partner with anyone.

May 21, 2018

The ISS was visible in Odessa, TX. Very few small clouds to block the view.

1.5k · May 21, 2018

I do not need a post in the category and I will be happy to use my sighting as a waymark visit. However, if anybody would benefit from a partner in Ottawa, Canada, let me know. I hope to be out again tomorrow night.

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAHT_Ottawa_ON

May 21, 2018

6 minutes ago, elyob said:

I do not need a post in the category and I will be happy to use my sighting as a waymark visit. However, if anybody would benefit from a partner in Ottawa, Canada, let me know. I hope to be out again tomorrow night.

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAHT_Ottawa_ON

My star chart did not show the position of the Moon. Usually it does show the Moon on that chart. Check your star chart. Was the Moon on yours?

May 21, 2018

Darn. I was on the road all day today taking the long way back home from Dallas, and I forgot to go check out the ISS pass. I'll be looking tomorrow night, and then Wednesday from Macon Missouri.

1.5k · May 21, 2018

9 hours ago, 8Nuts MotherGoose said:

My star chart did not show the position of the Moon. Usually it does show the Moon on that chart. Check your star chart. Was the Moon on yours?

The moon was on my chart but was actually smaller than Jupiter.

May 21, 2018

And here is what that moon:

And the ISS as it streaked by

May 22, 2018

Bon Echo - WOW! Great photos.

elyob, Thanks. Now I see it. I thought it was as big as Venus and Jupiter. Must have missed it only because I thought it would be bigger.

May 22, 2018

I just got back in from viewing the ISS pass tonight over Oklahoma City area. Waiting impatiently for news of others who have seen it.

May 22, 2018

No luck here tonight, 100% overcast, did not see a single celestial body. Disappointing, but so glad that yesterdays pass turned out as nice as it did. Will try again on Thursday (although that one is too early for viewing in Oklahoma City area).

Edited May 22, 2018 by Bon Echo

1.5k · May 22, 2018

1 minute ago, Bon Echo said:

No luck here tonight, 100% overcast, did not see a single celestial body. Disappointing, but so glad that yesterdays pass turned out as nice as it did. Will try again on Thursday.

Did you have a potential partner that could benefit from a sighting in Ottawa, Canada?

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAQ8_ISS_Sighting

May 22, 2018

Was planning to waymark two consecutive sightings with The Snowdog - I'm guessing it would have been a Waymarking first (two consecutive days, same teams, same locations).

1.5k · May 22, 2018

4 minutes ago, Bon Echo said:

Was planning to waymark two consecutive sightings with The Snowdog - I'm guessing it would have been a Waymarking first (two consecutive days, same teams, same locations).

That must be very disappointing. This category is certainly a challenge.

May 22, 2018

12 minutes ago, elyob said:

Did you have a potential partner that could benefit from a sighting in Ottawa, Canada?

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAQ8_ISS_Sighting

The Snowdog was supposed to get his first ISS catch on this. If he didn't get out to see it, I could be your partner. He and I are both in the Oklahoma City area, so only one can partner, and I got one a few months ago.

1.5k · May 22, 2018

3 minutes ago, vulture1957 said:

The Snowdog was supposed to get his first ISS catch on this. If he didn't get out to see it, I could be your partner. He and I are both in the Oklahoma City area, so only one can partner, and I got one a few months ago.

Thank you very much for the offer. I don't actually need a post in the category. Perhaps, the three of us (The Snowdog included) should be waiting to hear if potential partners in Europe need to match up with our sightings.

May 22, 2018

Thanks to Bon Echo who messaged me about ISS passes last night and tonight. I had lost track of this thread until just now. We did indeed get back to back ISS sightings. Last night's WMs are posted (from both of us) and I've submitted tonights. I am always good for any ISS pass that goes over central Oklahoma so please message me if you want to team up on one.

Edited May 22, 2018 by The Snowdog

May 22, 2018

As I understand it, The Snowdog can still create a WM for tonight, even though I was clouded out. That would allow elyob and vulture1957 to partner up for their sightings.

This is fun, I just wish there was an easier way to tell what cities the ISS will pass over when you find one that works for you.There's another visible pass here tomorrow night but I'm not sure where it will pass over to the south of me. A long way east of Oklahoma, that much I can tell.

May 22, 2018

there's a chance to get a morning and evening sighting on Jul 21, going SW to NE going over Oklahoma City. That would be a new first, 2 passes in a day.

11.9k · May 22, 2018

My ISS partner plans fell thru tonight, but we did get a great view of it on the 21:25 pass. Unfortunately, since it wasn't a planned location, we just pulled over onto a rural road and got lucky in spotting it, discovering later that the max alt was only 43º. So close!

May 22, 2018

So a question about partners. Here in the OKC area there are at least two waymarkers who are interested in ISS sightings. Could an appropriately distant third party partner with both for a given pass? I know at least one of the moderators for this category is following this thread - what do you think?

May 23, 2018

I saw the ISS pass over last night from Del Rio, Texas. The hotel I was in had lousy internet. It kept disconnecting every 5 minutes. Now I'm home.

I saw the ISS on both Sunday and Monday evening. I'm willing to partner with any one that still needs one or more partners.

May 23, 2018

19 hours ago, The Snowdog said:

So a question about partners. Here in the OKC area there are at least two waymarkers who are interested in ISS sightings. Could an appropriately distant third party partner with both for a given pass? I know at least one of the moderators for this category is following this thread - what do you think?

We would prefer separate partners. We did make one exception after a reviewer discussion before the Pass. 3 best friends living in 3 different States. Two of them were too close along the flight path. The third was more than 1 minute of flight time from the other two. We allowed a threesome Waymark. Oklahoma City is about on the same SW to NE path as Elyob, Bon Echo, and TriciaG, so finding a partner shouldn't be a problem. For a NW to SE Pass, if the ISS passes to the West side of OKC, I may be able to partner with them.

As we have seen over the past two Months, you can make future plans, but you have to expect the time to change, and the Pass will drift to the NW or SW. Bon Echo's first post on March 28 said May 21 would be 22:13 Eastern Time at Max Altitude of 70° to the SE. By May 21 it had changed to 22:30 at Max Altitude of 85° to the NW. That's a difference of 17 minutes and 25°. The ground track moved 100 miles/160km to the NW. For me, who is farther south, the ground track moved 150 miles/250km and an angle change of 27°.

We just had several viewable passes over a 4 day period with very few viewable passes for weeks before and weeks after. This tends to be the normal process as the Earth rotates beneath the ISS. Check for passes on a monthly basis.

11.9k · May 23, 2018

If I can drag myself out of bed, I plan on getting up to view the ISS pass over central Oklahoma 4:37 May 23, Wednesday. If anyone lives 300 miles NW or SE of there, feel free to watch also for a possible partnership.

11.9k · May 23, 2018

Wow, that was perfect viewing conditions! Not a cloud in the sky and the brightness was way up there.

May 23, 2018

On 5/21/2018 at 10:15 PM, The Snowdog said:

Thanks to Bon Echo who messaged me about ISS passes last night and tonight. I had lost track of this thread until just now. We did indeed get back to back ISS sightings. Last night's WMs are posted (from both of us) and I've submitted tonights. I am always good for any ISS pass that goes over central Oklahoma so please message me if you want to team up on one.

What web site did you use for your research? I like the ground path photo you posted on your Waymarks. It's much easier to figure out which cities are near the pass.

1.5k · May 23, 2018

8nuts MotherGoose, do you know if any other waymarkers require sighting partners (with me or vulture 1957) from the 20th or 21st of May?

May 23, 2018

20 minutes ago, elyob said:

8nuts MotherGoose, do you know if any other waymarkers require sighting partners (with me or vulture 1957) from the 20th or 21st of May?

I had a friend traveling through Indiana that wanted to join in but he was clouded out both nights. I am not aware of anyone else. I don't think anyone in France, Spain, or Portugal observed it in the wee hours of the morning on either pass.

While traveling, I observed the ISS Pass on both the 20th and 21st at two different locations. If you want me as a third party from Texas to extend your viewing line approximately 500 miles/800 km, I can create Waymarks. You both will have to include my Pass info into your Waymarks. Texas would be Site 1, Oklahoma is Site 2, and Ontario is Site 3. The choice belongs to you two. Let me know.

1.5k · May 23, 2018

On 21/05/2018 at 11:03 PM, vulture1957 said:

The Snowdog was supposed to get his first ISS catch on this. If he didn't get out to see it, I could be your partner. He and I are both in the Oklahoma City area, so only one can partner, and I got one a few months ago.

vulture1957, shall we team up with 8nuts MotherGoose for a threesome with our sightings from back on the 21st?

Edited May 23, 2018 by elyob

May 23, 2018

1 hour ago, 8Nuts MotherGoose said:

What web site did you use for your research? I like the ground path photo you posted on your Waymarks. It's much easier to figure out which cities are near the pass.

I tried to find what was used, and instead found this site:

http://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=25544#

only provides 10-day predictions but when you view a prediction is shows a great zoomable map:

May 23, 2018

6 hours ago, Bon Echo said:

I tried to find what was used, and instead found this site:

http://www.n2yo.com/passes/?s=25544#

only provides 10-day predictions but when you view a prediction is shows a great zoomable map:

That's great! I'll have to do some studying on that site to learn what it will do for me. I'll bookmark it in my search engine. 10 days gives you time to find a partner and even check a 10-day weather forecast for their area before you contact them.

https://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx is the web site listed in the Category description. Do a search for "heavens above" and it should show.

I'll still use Heavens Above to find long term future predictions, knowing the ground path and time will shift as it gets closer to actual date.

May 24, 2018

I have been using iss.astroviewer.net but they appear to be down at this time.

2.4k · May 24, 2018

Looks like a great pass for me tonight:

Time: Thu May 24 9:27 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 71°

This appears to be the same pass that Bon Echo posted graphics for a couple posts up.

Edit: I'm in the Toronto area.

Edited May 24, 2018 by TriciaG

May 24, 2018

2 hours ago, TriciaG said:

Looks like a great pass for me tonight:

Time: Thu May 24 9:27 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 71°

This appears to be the same pass that Bon Echo posted graphics for a couple posts up.

I have a friend at the big Geocaching Event in Cincinnati, Ohio. He may be observing the ISS tonight at 21:28:40 at max altitude of 49° to the NW. I told them to contact you if they remember to observe it.

1.5k · May 25, 2018

On 5/21/2018 at 11:03 PM, vulture1957 said:

The Snowdog was supposed to get his first ISS catch on this. If he didn't get out to see it, I could be your partner. He and I are both in the Oklahoma City area, so only one can partner, and I got one a few months ago.

vulture1957, should we partner for that sighting back on May 21st?

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAQ8_ISS_Sighting_Del_Rio_TX_Bethany_OK_Ottawa_ON_site_3

Edited May 27, 2018 by elyob

2.4k · May 25, 2018

*sigh*

I saw the ISS last night, but I didn't get a screen shot of my phone's GPS. I can almost never get that stupid screen shot feature to work. How strict is the waymark owner? Do I have to have that screen shot?

I got a great picture of Venus over the nearby houses, though. And I got a pic of the ISS, but it's just a white dot in a dark sky.

Edited May 25, 2018 by TriciaG

May 26, 2018

8 hours ago, TriciaG said:

*sigh*

I saw the ISS last night, but I didn't get a screen shot of my phone's GPS. I can almost never get that stupid screen shot feature to work. How strict is the waymark owner? Do I have to have that screen shot?

I got a great picture of Venus over the nearby houses, though. And I got a pic of the ISS, but it's just a white dot in a dark sky.

What we want is a screenshot of the ISS ground path. It does not require a GPS in the photo any more.

You can always ask your partner to search for the pass over Toronto and send you a screenshot photo of the ground pass.

My friend in Cincinnati was at his brothers place for dinner and forgot to look for the ISS.

Oklahoma City was in daylight and could not see it.

Anyone else see it that was far enough away from her to partner with her?

May 26, 2018

9 hours ago, elyob said:

vulture1957, should we partner for that sighting back on May 21st?

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAQ8_ISS_Sighting_Donna_TX_Bethany_OK_Ottawa_ON_site_3

I was not in Donna, TX. I was traveling and stopped in Del Rio, TX for the night. See my post above. Max Altitude 88°.

2.4k · May 26, 2018

10 hours ago, 8Nuts MotherGoose said:

What we want is a screenshot of the ISS ground path. It does not require a GPS in the photo any more.

You can always ask your partner to search for the pass over Toronto and send you a screenshot photo of the ground pass.

My friend in Cincinnati was at his brothers place for dinner and forgot to look for the ISS.

Oklahoma City was in daylight and could not see it.

Anyone else see it that was far enough away from her to partner with her?

I just PM'd you. I've got the ground path. Glad to hear the GPS photo isn't required anymore. (It's still in the directions/description.)

I'm thinking any partner would have had to be in the Canadian Maritimes or Quebec, or in Europe somewhere (which would have been the middle of the night for them). Too far west wouldn't have worked, since it was dusk/last light around here.

If I don't get a partner, no worries.

Edited May 26, 2018 by TriciaG

May 31, 2018

On 5/25/2018 at 1:46 PM, elyob said:

vulture1957, should we partner for that sighting back on May 21st?

http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYAQ8_ISS_Sighting_Del_Rio_TX_Bethany_OK_Ottawa_ON_site_3

I did a visit to The Snowdog's sighting rather than do a separate sighting.

June 1, 2018

An interesting story about ISS Observations can be found here. No mention of Waymarking them.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/all-night-vigil-with-the-international-space-station/?k=2%2B2BZkSDX35rAJH9ywCsqU%2FvCqpPjiiIPbeKdWysTDY%3D&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=sky-jma-nl-180525

June 1, 2018

On 5/23/2018 at 9:50 AM, elyob said:

vulture1957, shall we team up with 8nuts MotherGoose for a threesome with our sightings from back on the 21st?

elyob - here is a link to my waymark for the May 21 ISS pass. http://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMYDBV_ISS_Sighting_Del_Rio_TX_Bethany_OK_Site_2_Ottawa_ON

Lee in Bethany

11.9k · June 1, 2018

I have a great viewing opportunity on June 8.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Max and 99

June 1, 2018

12 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I have a (hopefully) great viewing ahead on June 8 in central OK but can't find anyone in LA or NW of me to join in. I'll be watching anyways.

yes, I was just looking at that, myself. It goes from about Spokane WA, thru Idaho, Wyoming, over Denver, hits Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and goes into shadow just before it goes over New Orleans. That new site N2YO is great for figuring out where to look for players.

11.9k · June 1, 2018

That's what I used but I can't find a city in the path that has min alt.

June 1, 2018

27 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

That's what I used but I can't find a city in the path that has min alt.

Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Dodge City, Denver, Ft Collins, Casper, Jackson, maybe Idaho Falls, Butte, Missoula and Spokane should all be good for a viewing.

ISS Sightings May 21 2018 - Houston to Albany

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