help iss

[quimby44]

hi there fellow stargazers i need just a little help i got some co ordanates to let me see the ISS weather permitting it says on it will be visable in the the 04/04 2015 at 21.24 at 12 degrees so if i set my telescope facing due north and lift the tube up to 12 deg and move it to due south is it right i could see the iss  for a minute cheers  stephen 

[Paul M]

From Doncaster ISS will always traverse your southern sky. 

If 12deg is it's highest altitude on that pass it's not a very good pass. 

Have you seen ISS visually already? If not, don't bother with the scope for your first few observations.

It's very bright and very obvious and surprisingly difficult to keep in a telescope's field of view!

ISS apparitions come in Morning and Evening series. starting with poor passes to almost overhead passes (depending on your latitude), then waning to poor passes before a period of not being visible from the UK at all.

The pass you mention sounds like the start of an evening series.

A few days later should bring much better passes- higher and longer.

It's difficult to spot as it rises in the west as it's a long way down range and competing with a greater thickness of atmosphere. Not the best time to pick it up.

Watch a few passes and you'll see what I mean

[Davey-T]

If you look on Heavens Above site and enter your co-ords it will show you the track across the sky so you can be ready and waiting and practice panning along it's route, not easy to follow though.

Dave

[happy-kat]

It is viable by eye.

I would first watch it by eye to see how it moves and speed before trying to follow with a telescope.

The first light optics clear out side weather site shows ISS pass details for your location.

[Paul M]

Here is what HA say for the coming series:

http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=53.5228&lng=-1.1285&loc=Doncaster&alt=23&tz=GMT

11th of April being a particularly good pass. It's highest point being 63 deg , that is above the southern horizon.

Rise and set times are also given.

You will see that "end" times still show ISS at quite some altitudes. That's because depending on the timing it passes into Earths shadow long before it goes over the horizon. Quite interesting to watch!

EDIT: Click on any pass in the table for a finder chart, very useful.

[ronin]

On 4/4 it is only just above the horizon, the duration says less then a minute. It starts in your SSW and disappears in the South. As the the Highest and End are the same I suspect that it disappears into the earths shadow, and not so much over the horizon.

Better is 7th April at 21:54. It gets reasonably high and lasts just over 3 minutes, another on 8th April at 22:36 (only 2 minutes and again disappears at the high point so into the earths shadow again I guess) and even better on 9th April at 21:43 (4 minutes).

All will start in your West or South West view.

[Coastliner]

If you have an android phone download ISS Tracker or ISS Spotter for iphone/ipad. These will tell you when the next passes are and will help you to find it by using your device as a compass.

I agree with the others though, forget the scope and bins for the first few passes.