Randy's recent foray into photographing the Perseid meteors (and now nails from space) got me to wondering if it would be possible to photograph man-made space objects with everyday camera gear. NASA publishes a very detailed guide on when the International Space Station (ISS) and the shuttle are visible in your area. The guide can be a little confusing at first, but it's easy to interpret if you remember that looking straight up is 90 degrees, looking at the horizon is 0 degrees, and for those of you weak in geometry, halfway between the horizon and straight up is 45 degrees. Over the next few days there will be some pretty good viewing opportunities of the ISS (and possibly the shuttle attached or nearby on Monday) in the Knoxville area.

For example, on Monday the ISS will appear at 9:29pm in the NNW for 2 minutes as it streaks across the sky toward the ENE reaching a maximum elevation of 42 degrees. Notice in the guide that the shuttle will appear one minute later traveling in the same direction. The shuttle has been docked up with the ISS but the guide hints that they will be separated but still in close proximity as the shuttle prepares for return on Tuesday as bizgrrl noted earlier. I've never seen the two hooked up but have been told that it appears as a very large fast moving bright object. I have seen the ISS alone and it's definitely very bright all by itself. The ideal viewing is when the max elevation approaches 90 degrees but it looks like Thursday will be the best day this coming week at 46 degrees for 3 minutes. I've found the guide to be extremely accurate however it does publish shuttle times even when it's not in orbit. I guess you have to use the guide in coordination with CNN (or Knoxviews). With my photo gear I can reach out to around 800mm. I just wonder if those large solar panels on the ISS could be distinguished. It's worth a try, better than watching TV.

p.s. If you're out of the Knoxville area, go to this link to find sighting times where you live.