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ISS To Become Second Brightest-Object In the Sky
Matt_dk writes "Move over, Morning Star. Once Canadarm2 helps install the fourth and final set of solar array wings to the International Space Station later this month, the Station will surpass Venus as the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. The Space Shuttle Discovery is set to deliver the power-generating solar panels and Starboard 6 (S6) truss segment to the ISS on the 125th mission in the Shuttle program, known as STS-119/15A (slated for launch on March 11)."
Yes, the ISS is bright and will be brighter.
This still doesn't rival the brightness of an Iridium flare.
Predictions of the ISS and Iridium flares are provided at http://www.heavens-above.com/
Then there have been comets and supernova that have been visible during daylight. Yea, I think the ISS is cool to observe, but don't call it 2nd brightest after the moon.
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
Move over, Morning Star. Once Canadarm2 helps install the fourth and final set of solar array wings to the International Space Station later this month, the Station will surpass Venus as the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon.
That's no moon. It's the International Space Station.
I keep thinking of the effects of a discarded Coke bottle on those non-technically savvy people in "The Gods Must Be Crazy"...
Perhaps they will select Three Wise Men to go on a pilgrimage toward the bright new star...
I live in a city so the light pollution messes up any chances I have at looking at a starry sky. I have as a child always found it incomprehensible that people said that you couldn't count all the stars because I can surely do it where I live.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
My dad grew up in the middle-of-nowhere, Idaho, and says when he was kid they would watch Sputnik fly across the sky. The high elevation and lack of big city lights make the night sky amazing.
Whale
the Station will surpass Venus as the brightest object in the night sky,
Is the sun so obvious that they don't even see it?
Ummm... Since when is the sun in the *night* sky??
"Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns" -Journal of Political Econom
If the ISS does turn out to be brighter than Venus - which varies in brightness considerably, depending on where in it's orbit it is - relative to earth, then it will be interesting to see if it's visible during daytime passes, too.
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
He lives in Alaska, you insensitive clod!
It amazes me that so many allegedly "educated" people have fallen so quickly and so hard for a fraudulent fabrication of such laughable proportions. The very idea that a gigantic ball of rock happens to orbit our planet, showing itself in neat, four-week cycles -- with the same side facing us all the time -- is ludicrous. Furthermore, it is an insult to common sense and a damnable affront to intellectual honesty and integrity. That people actually believe it is evidence that the liberals have wrested the last vestiges of control of our public school system from decent, God-fearing Americans (as if any further evidence was needed! Daddy's Roommate? God Almighty!)
Documentaries such as Enemy of the State have accurately portrayed the elaborate, byzantine network of surveillance satellites that the liberals have sent into space to spy on law-abiding Americans. Equipped with technology developed by Handgun Control, Inc., these satellites have the ability to detect firearms from hundreds of kilometers up. That's right, neighbors .. the next time you're out in the backyard exercising your Second Amendment rights, the liberals will see it! These satellites are sensitive enough to tell the difference between a Colt .45 and a .38 Special! And when they detect you with a firearm, their computers cross-reference the address to figure out your name, and then an enormous database housed at Berkeley is updated with information about you.
Of course, this all works fine during the day, but what about at night? Even the liberals can't control the rotation of the Earth to prevent nightfall from setting in (only Joshua was able to ask for that particular favor!) That's where the "moon" comes in. Powered by nuclear reactors, the "moon" is nothing more than an enormous balloon, emitting trillions of candlepower of gun-revealing light. Piloted by key members of the liberal community, the "moon" is strategically moved across the country, pointing out those who dare to make use of their God-given rights at night!
Yes, I know this probably sounds paranoid and preposterous, but consider this. Despite what the revisionist historians tell you, there is no mention of the "moon" anywhere in literature or historical documents -- anywhere -- before 1950. That is when it was initially launched. When President Josef Kennedy, at the State of the Union address, proclaimed "We choose to go to the moon", he may as well have said "We choose to go to the weather balloon." The subsequent faking of a "moon" landing on national TV was the first step in a long history of the erosion of our constitutional rights by leftists in this country. No longer can we hide from our government when the sun goes down.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Anyone know which country the Canadarm2 is from? /ducks
Actually, in order to combat global warming, they intend to turn off the sun.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Isn't it ironic that the parts of the ISS that are meant to absorb as much sunlight as they can, actually reflect enough of it to make the ISS the seconds brightest object in the sky:P
0x or or snor perron?!
Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Ah crap, it's a satellite.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
Both Sky (BSkyB) and The Sun are owned by Rupert Murdock.
This must mean Rupert Murdock is some sort of universal force, as he binds the Sun to the Sky...
No, he didn't necessarily stop reading there, but... people compose their first reply in their heads as soon as they read the title, and displaying the usual level of /. impulse control, they hit read more, hit reply, and post it. Then they read the summary, make another reply. Then, maybe, they read the actual article. If they haven't already gotten distracted by all the other clueless posts and arguments over first reactions and speculating that's so much more fun than actually learning the facts. :p
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Depends on the wish.
"I wish I could triangulate my position on the planet surface to within 3 meters with only a handheld telemetry device."
"I wish for a mass extinction of species on the planet and a sudden solution to global warming."
It doesn't hurt to be nice.