(meteorobs) Shuttle/ISS visible tonight after undocking in much of US.

[meteors at eclipse.net]

The Shuttle is scheduled to undock from the ISS shortly after 5PM EST
tonight. Beginning less than an hour later the next three orbits across
the US should provide an opportunity to see them very near each other.
Having seen such an event once (on a Spirit of Norfolk company Christmas
party cruise in VA) I assure you it's a sight not to be missed.

Roughly, the first orbit, less than 1 hour after undocking is visible in
the eastern US from Northern Florida to Maine.
Along the Gulf coast from Alabama westward it's still too light out, the
same for St Louis. However this pass is visible as far NW as Minneapolis
including Chicago. It appears the orbit is overhead near Louisville and
Cincinatti.

The approximate time is 5:57 to 6:04 EST (4:57 to 5:04 CST). For exact
times and directions for your location go to Heavens-Above .
Then edit location, you can select from the database, since unlike Iridium
Flares, the precise location is not critical.
Then click on the ISS predictions.
Since the shuttle should still be very nearby, that is sufficient.

Also on that page you can get an accurate time check, which is important,
since if your watch is off by 5 minutes, you could miss the whole thing,
or be facing the wrong direction at the wrong time!

THe ISS will be between mag +1 and -1, the shuttle a bit dimmer, but trust
me, you'll have no trouble seeing them.

The next orbit is around 6:33-6:35 CST and is visible in Minneapolis (a
double for Calli  ) Denver, St Louis, Fargo and Green Bay. This is about 2
1/2 hours after undocking

The final orbit is visible at least in Portland Oregon, Northern
California, etc. About 4 hours after undocking.
I haven'y had as much time to define the edges of the zone of visibility
for these orbits, so you can check for yourself; everyone needs to do that
anyway to get the exact times.

So check it out, we can post our observations later.

If you are going to access the Heavens Above site, I'd suggest you do it
early, since it may be swamped with requests later on.

If there's any change in the undocking time, I'll post an update. Also
I'll try and find the schedule of how quickly the two objects separate.

At some point the H-A page will begin posting separate information for
STS-116 once it begins to drop down to a lower orbit prior to return to
earth. Probably not until tomorrow morning, and be aware, if the shuttle
makes an orbital maneuver, those predictions are innacurate until updated
with the new orbital elements.

Any new info, I'll post!

Good Luck to everyone. Don't miss it!

Meteor Wayne