Did the space station fly over North Carolina this morning (January 22, 2019) about 6:30am I live in Roxbro NC 27574. I spotted an unusual object in the sky about 140-150 degrees, toward the South East. It seemed to have 5 bright lights with a larger one in the middle. There seemed to be another object behind it. I used binoculars to see it up close.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
-
$\begingroup$ Check in-the-sky — they have a nice page to show you bright satellite passes from your location at a given time. Almost all satellites and the ISS will appear as point lights, not a cluster of lights, so it’s more likely that you saw aircraft. $\endgroup$– Russell BorogoveJan 23, 2019 at 2:17
-
1$\begingroup$ @RussellBorogove OP used binoculars. Usually Astronomy SE is better for lights in the sky, but I think the ISS could have some visible structure in binoculars. $\endgroup$– uhohJan 23, 2019 at 3:08
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
According to In-The-Sky, there was no ISS pass visible from your location at that time, but the Hubble Space Telescope passed from WSW through S to SE from 6:34 to 6:41 am -- its highest elevation was 23º above horizon from Durham, so I believe it would be a little lower from Roxboro. I wouldn't expect it to appear as multiple light sources even in binoculars, however.
Similar HST passes are going to occur the morning of the 23rd at 6:24-6:30 and on the 24th at 6:14-6:19, so if you make similar observations at those times it's good confirmation that you're looking at HST.
ISS will be very bright the evening of the 23rd 6:47-6:52 pm going from WSW to NNE.
There are phone apps to help you find these satellites; I like Sky Guide on iOS.
answered Jan 23, 2019 at 4:43