I've just seen the toolbag !!!

[John]

I happened to step outside about 23:15 hrs tonight and was treated, through a large gap in the wind-driven clouds, to a really bright (mag -2.5) pass of the ISS through Hercules - it was so bright it really startled me but the Heavens Above web site confirmed what I'd seen.

While I was on the site I noticed that the infamous toolbag that was "lost" from the ISS a while back is also listed and a 23:32 hrs pass over was predicted virtually overhead in Ursa Major. So I grabbed my 8x40 wide field binoculars and popped out again. Bang on time I saw this much fainter (mag 5.3) star like object following the path predicted, passing close to the bright star Phad which is in the "heel" of the big dipper. I tracked it across the sky until it faded as it passed into the Earths shadow.

Amazing - I had no idea that this object would be visable in this way.

John

[Lee]

....

Blimey.

[Doc]

It's just amazing that we can see a toolbag all the way up there

[tinvek]

It's just amazing that we can see a toolbag all the way up there

especially since i cant find the pliers i put down somewhere 5 mins ago