Space viewing highlights for tonight and the next week

Four ISS passes in one photo! Credit: Mark Humpage
http://www.universetoday.com/86631/why-can
-we-see-multiple-iss-passes-right-now/

Here are details of space events of note  over the next week, including particularly good opportunities for viewing the only place where humans live other than on Earth - the International Space Station.

There are a few long ISS passes over the next three days. Friday's pass is lower in the sky (see the maximum elevation of only 25 degrees - 90 degrees is straight up), so won't be as bright as the other two days. there are shorter passes later on some days but I've culled passes of just 1 or 2 minutes.

Date: Friday, June 01, 2012

Time: 05:36 PM

Duration: 5 minutes

Maximum Elevation: 25°

Approach: 10° above SSW

Departure: 11° above E

Magnitude: -2.1 (pretty bright)

Date: Saturday, June 02, 2012

Time: 06:18 PM

Duration: 6 minutes

Maximum Elevation: 61°

Approach: 10° above SW

Departure: 15° above NE

Magnitude: -2.9 (quite bright)

Date: Sunday, June 03, 2012

Time: 05:24 PM

Duration: 6 minutes

Maximum Elevation: 57°

Approach: 10° above SW

Departure: 10° above ENE

Magnitude: -3.2 (Very bright)
(See the scale goes backwards? It's logarithmic too, so a difference of 5 magnitudes means a brightness difference of exactly 100 times.)

And on Monday, there'll be a partial lunar eclipse. The Earth’s shadow will overlap about 38% of the Moon from 19:59 to 22:06. Maximum eclipse 21:03.

The path of the Venus transit

Of course Wednesday will be all about the Transit of Venus. Check this website for an animation based on your location of the track of Venus as it passes in front of the Sun then loops back out again. Times for this are:

External ingress 8:16 - Venus touches edge of Sun

Internal ingress 8:34 - Venus completely within Sun's disc

Closest to sun centre 11:30

Internal egress 14:26

External egress 14:44 - all done

Here's hoping for clear skies, or I'll have to go for a long drive to get photos. I've been practicing with the solar filters I made for the telescope and camera - here are early efforts.

If I don't have to drive away to find clear skies, I'll be home all Transit Day. Happy for people to drop me a line about dropping around for a look through the telescope.

If you are viewing yourself, please remember it is very dangerous if you do it incorrectly. Any focusing of the sun using a lens without proper filtering will destroy your eye instantly. Here's how to watch safely:

Now for enthusiasts, here's a challenge. Iridium satellites are part of a sat-phone network. They have several shiny solar panels and cause very bright but short flares. 

There are a few flares this next week but this one at Magnitude -6 will be much brighter than Venus at it brightest (-4.4), and should be right as you are walking out the office door.

Date: 6 Jun At: 17:23:40 Altitude: 70° Azimuth: 127° (SE )

Other flare details at http://heavens-above.com - log in so it knows your location for accurate predictions.

Enjoy folks!