[ATMoB-discuss] RE: (NSAAC) Images of last night's ISS/Shuttle pass...

[A. Joseph Ross]

On 21 Jun 2007 John Sheff wrote:

> What I find surprising is that Heavens Above gave the magnitude of the
> ISS as -0.9, and of Atlantis as -1.4, in separate calculations. Those
> are *negative* magnitudes. That means HA had predicted Atlantis to be
> a half-magnitude brighter than the ISS, and that, too, is obviously in
> error. Can anyone estimate what the magnitudes of the two objects we
> saw last night actually were, at maximum?

It looked to me like the ISS was about as bright as Venus at its 
brightest, but it's hard to compare, since Venus wasn't anywhere 
nearby.  However, the shuttle looked only slightly brighter than 
Arcturus, which was nearby in the sky.  At least, that's how I saw 
it. 

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A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                   617.367.0468
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