Searching For Satellites

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, (AAAP) had scheduled a club event for the 29^th and 30^th of July. It wasn’t a star party; it was a club get-together to see how many satellites we could spot in the course of a night. There had been a previous record of 62 set by two club members many years ago, it was time to try and break the record.

    As so many of our clubs' events go, the weather on Friday was rather “iffy”. An e-mail was sent out cancelling that night's event. Four of us showed up anyway.

    A beautiful sunset appeared as I drove up to the observatory. It was that time of the day where the colors seem more intense. The tiny crescent moon was located a short while after the sun set, a mere 2% illuminated. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a moon as thin as this before! That was the highpoint of my night, but the rest didn’t let me down either.

    We sat on the concrete pad beside the observatory and watched as the sky darkened. The brightest satellite we saw was the International Space Station, (ISS) making a 5-minute pass. It skimmed stars in Ursa Major (The Big Dipper) and Ursa Minor (The Little Dipper) before cruising through Cygnus and then disappearing in the earths’ shadow and the clouds.

    In the couple hours of darkness that I was there, I saw 8 satellites, 9 if you wanted to count the moon! I went home a happy sky gazer.

    Saturday delivered another nice night sky. The moon, a little bit larger than the night before was located around 8:30. As the sky darkened, (sunset was at 8:37) it became much easier to see.

    I took a walk over the hill to get some pictures of the moon and the observatory. While I was playing with my camera, I missed the first sighting, the ISS. I was watching for it but between the lower position on the hill and the bright sky, I missed it. (I know…excuses, excuses) I did see it on its second pass 90 minutes later.

    There was at least 14 people that showed up on Saturday. It is hard to say since it was dark when some arrived. By the time I returned to the top of the hill, they were well on their way accumulating their numbers.

    The rules are pretty simple. It has to be an artificial satellite; the moon doesn’t count. There also has to be at least two people that see it, it needs confirmed. That was it, nice and simple.

    Thank heavens for the members with good eyesight, that and laser pointers. They would see a satellite and then point to it with their pointers, enabling me to find the satellites with my binoculars. I was able to see the brighter ones by eye, but most of the ones I saw were seen with optical aid.

    We saw Saturn rise and we saw some falling stars. In-between sightings I browsed around the constellations, checking out things I normally only observed with telescopes.

    I left a little after 11, there were some clouds moving in and I had to get up early the next morning. I saw one final satellite as I was getting into my car bringing my total to 30. I had watched a couple satellites that appeared to be crossing each other’s paths, which was pretty cool. I saw three in the sky at the same time, though I’m sure there were probably more up there, I just didn’t see them. 

    The most satellites I’ve seen in the sky at one time was well over 15 or 20. It was right after a Starlink dump. They stretched across the sky, coming from behind a cloud and disappearing near the horizon. It was a morning I’ll always remember. There were over 30 satellites in the parade passing overhead.

    Sadly, the official grand total for Saturday as computed by our esteemed official, Eric Fischer, was 42. That is 20 less than the current club record. Cirrus clouds moved in and hid the fainter satellites from view as the night progressed. Since we are moving into August the angle of the sun isn’t favorable for long nights of satellite viewing. We will try again next year, maybe the Pittsburgh weather will co-operate with us for a change.

    I believe we all enjoyed ourselves though, we talked, we laughed, we visited with each other unlike at star parties where we tend to our telescopes and only talk with the public and the members parked beside us. We relaxed and had a good time, sitting under the stars and the satellites.

Watching for The Space Stations

    It was the morning of the 4^th, a little after 6 oclock, the light of dawn hadn’t arrived yet. For the most part, the neighborhood was dark and quiet. My neighbor’s porch light did intrude a bit but I could work around it. There was no moon in the sky making it appear even darker.

    I had gotten up early to watch two space stations pass over my house. Who would have imagined doing this 50 or 60 years ago? Science fiction HAS come true!

(No comment needed!)

    Finding a spot that was shielded from the obtrusive porch light next door, I familiarized myself with the stars above. The camera was set up with hopes of getting a couple shots as the stations passed bright stars. Then, all that needed to be done was to wait and enjoy the silence.

Tiangong passing towards the left (East) under Arctures

    The first to appear was the Chinese space station Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace”. It came over the trees right at the scheduled time. Presently there are three astronauts on board this structure. Watching as it got higher in the sky, I was startled by a woman walking her dog. I pointed to the satellite and told her what it was, she simply said “cool” and continued her walk. I'm guessing she wasn't impressed.

    Nearing the end of its passage across the sky, off in a different direction the International Space Station (ISS) had appeared behind some other trees. For a brief while I could see both space stations in the sky at the same time! While it might not excite others, I found this fascinating!

    I swiveled my camera around to catch the ISS and when I looked up, I saw a bright object beside Polaris. (The North Star) As I watched, it proceeded to get brighter. I pushed the shutter on the camera and when I looked back up, the object had disappeared. 

The ISS passing over Polaris, heading towards the right (East)

    Once the ISS had completed its pass, I went inside (into the warmth!) to see if I had caught the flare. The pictures came out nicely, the ISS appearing much brighter than Tiangong since it is a bigger structure. (There are seven crewmen from different countries on the ISS presently.) Someday I'll get a picture with both of them in the same shot!

    As far as the flare goes, I can only guess to what it was. It reminded me of an Iridium Flare. Years ago, there was a fleet of satellites that were shaped in a way that caused bright flares to appear as the sunlight shined on them. If you happened to be in the proper spot at the proper time, you could see them. They were fun to point out to people at star parties.

    There had also been a meteor shower that peaked the day before. It could’ve been one of them. I failed to notice which direction it was coming from, it appeared to be coming straight towards me.  There was also a report of a possible meteor exploding over the Western Pennsylvania area on New Year’s Day…could it have been something related to that?

    Whatever it was, it made for an exciting morning! I always find it rewarding to see things in the sky, or elsewhere, that I wasn’t expecting.

    I had planned on going back inside and slipping back under the covers but this changed everything. I had to see how the pictures came out and to check a few web sites to see if any other bright satellites were in the sky at that time. I found nothing on-line, so I’m leaning towards a flare from a random satellite. There are thousands of objects floating around up there…who knows?

ISS to the left in the trees, the flare and Polaris, all in line

(6:30:42AM EST)

    A couple of satellites, a flare, a good cup of coffee and a bit of research, yup, this day was off to a great start!

Prepping for a Star Party

 

               I’m excited! The AAAP will be holding star parties once again. With the majority of the population in Pennsylvania being vaccinated, the mask requirements have been dropped.

               This will be the first star party in 20 months. Since my retirement is nearing, I am no longer working Friday nights. This will free me up for both nights (July 16 & 17^th) at the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park.

               The general idea behind a star party is to show the public the wonders of the night sky. Club members bring their telescopes and set them up so that visitors can use them. Guests are welcome to bring their own scopes or just look through the member’s scopes. All the telescopes are there for you to look through, including the two large scopes mounted in the observatory. 

                  I can’t remember the last time I took a telescope to a star party. I do know it has been a long time! I used to go to lots of them. I had possession of one of the clubs better refractors and would set it up near the observatory. I remember fondly people saying that the refractor showed better images than the two mounted telescopes inside the building. Ahh, those were the days. It is always enjoyable showing people the stars!

               Since it has been such a long time since I went to one and dealt with the public, I figured I needed to make up a checklist to make sure I didn’t forget anything I would need.  I also made a list of possible objects to view during the night.

               Forgetting things is something I tend to do very well. There is nothing worse than driving 10-15 miles only to discover that I’ve forgotten the box of eyepieces or the weights used to balance the scope.

               There are approximately 20 days until the first star party. (Depending on when I post this or when you read it) I’ve made up my “to take” list and my “to view” list. Both are subject to change as the dates near. Here is what I’ve included so far:

To Take:

The Refractor

Tripod

Weights

Eyepieces

Binoculars

Flashlight (red)

Log book/ pens

Star Atlas, Observers Handbook & the current Astronomy magazine

Drinks / Snacks

Jacket

Hat

Bug spray

 

To Observe:

    Venus (west) sets around 10

    Mars (west)

    Moon- sets after midnight

    Jupiter (east) rises around 10:30-11

    Saturn (east) rises around 9:30- 10

    Any satellite passes worth noting

    Mizar and Alcor (Ursa Major)

    M81 & 82 (Ursa Major)

    M-31 Andromeda Galaxy

    M-57 Ring Nebula (Lyra)

    Double Double (Lyra) Epsilon Lyrae     

    Double cluster (Persius) after midnight ?

    Coat Hanger Cluster  (in line with Alberio)

    Alberio Double star in Cygnus 

With my list of objects to observe, I try to go for things which will be exciting for novices to see. It is also important to list things which will be visible during the night of the party! No sense listing the Orion Nebula if Orion won’t be in the sky that night.

               Venus and Mars will be in the western sky, setting shortly after dark falls. The moon will be in the sky until around midnight, being about 40% illuminated, it will be a good object to observe. The mountains along the terminator are always fun to look at.

               The planets Jupiter and Saturn are always crowd pleasers, they will be showing up in the east as the night progresses. The moons of Jupiter can be seen to move over an hour or so and the rings of Saturn are always memorable.

I have included a couple double stars and a few other things such as clusters and asterisms. I also included M-57, the Ring Nebula. This can be a difficult object for some to discern since it is rather faint, I’ll save it for later in the night, after the moon sets.

Before the event, I’ll go out in the yard and try to locate these objects. I haven’t done a lot of observing lately and I need to be able to quickly locate these things. It is always tough when someone is standing there, waiting to see what you have in your scope!

I’m anxiously looking forward to these dates. It will be great to spend a night under the stars. This though, brings up another subject, the possibility of bad weather. We live in Pittsburgh and it has a terrible history of bad weather conditions. I always say, “If there is something astronomical planned, the chances are it will rain!” (The picture above was taken during a VERY close conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter. The weather gods laughed at us…) I might have a cramp or two on July 16^th and 17^th, because I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed until then!

If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!  Mark these dates...July 16 & 17, 2021! Find out more at The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh web site:

3AP.ORG

I went outside for awhile last night and located a couple of the items on my list. It was a beautiful night, the temperature was perfect for observing. A pair of shorts and an open shirt was all I needed. (That and some bug spray) The stars competed with the fireflies. I saw a couple shooting stars and then got stuck on the items I was observing.  I wanted to just find them and then go to the next but I found I couldn’t help but stick with them for awhile, enjoying the beauty of the night. I saw LOTS of satellites; it seems as if no matter where I’m looking, one will drift through the field of view. Just before I tore things down, I saw a great shooting star, it was slow and bright and right where I was looking. How can you beat that?

Speaking of satellites, I woke up a little before 5 the next morning and watched the Chinese space station, Tianhe-1, go over and then a short while later, the International Space Station following a slightly different path. I watched both until they were lost in the brightness of the eastern sky.

The birds were chirping away, singing their morning songs and I, went back to bed where my dreams were waiting for me.