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Heads up! Falcon 9 Rocket to Transit the Moon on May 1st! (UK)


Alaness

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I've been doing some research using calsky and I found that a Falcon 9 rocket is due to transit the moon from the perspective of the UK on "May 1st, 20h39m37.08s" It should last about 40 seconds. I don't think anyone has imaged a Falcon 9 transit yet, but if the launch is on time then we should have a decent stab at it!

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Alan

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Given that the track where an given ISS transit is visible is so narrow, I wonder if perhaps this is also only visible along a fairly narrow path.

James

I assumed the whole UK, but the image is based upon my location in South Wales.

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How wide the track is will also depend on how high the rocket is at the time.

That was my next question :) It would be interesting to know how wide the track is and what size the rocket will appear at the time.

James

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Yep, just ran it in Stellarium; the Moon rises at about 01:29 and sets at about 10:27 on 01-05-2013. It then rises again on 02-05-2013 at about 01:59.

Well this is embarrassing. I must have typed up the wrong info. A recheck says that the actual time is Sunday, 12 May 2013, 19h 39m 32s

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Don't worry Alaness, I have posted a picture on here of Jupiter with the title of 'Saturn (date)'!!!! emo6.gif You can imagine some of the replies I received. emo18.gif I think it's like the bidding rush on Ebay, you find something out or get a picture and want to post it as quickly as possible and your mind gets overtaken by your fingers!

I will put that date/time in my diary and if we have clear skies that night emo30.gif I will see if I can get a video. Thanks for the heads-up by the way!

Edit: Looking in Stellarium again the Sun will not set for another hour after the transit so I think it is going to be very difficult to get a capture of the transit. If there is sufficient Earthshine on the dark side of the Moon it may be possible to pick something up. I may still give it a try...you never know!

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