Space station views this week washed out
And here I thought I'd have a nice series of bright flyovers by the International Space Station to enjoy during my vacation. Alas, the arrival of a cold front tonight - and forecasts that it will stall over the region with clouds and showers for the rest of the week - have washed out those plans.
The astronauts aboard the ISS will be flying over a solid deck of clouds. And we'll be beneath it. We might even have caught a glimpse of the shuttle Endeavour, which has undocked from the ISS in preparation for the ride home.
Had the forecast been for clear skies over the next few nights, we could have enjoyed nightly, early-evening flyovers. Instead we get this.
That's the cold front - the blue line draped along the Ohio Valley on this weather map. It extends from a low now over eastern Canada. Once it gets here, it will hang around way too long. There's no sunshine predicted again until Sunday.
Our temperatures will depend on which side of the front we find ourselves on. Could be in the 60s. Or, not. The forecast discussion suggests there is a "potential for a huge bust in temperature forecast given usual uncertainties with exact position of front..."
Bummer. I'm takin' a nap.
Comments
o.k. - on the outside chance the clouds don't arrive - what's the best time for viewing?
FR: Thanks for the note, Mike. The first opportunity would be Wednesday evening. The ISS would appear over the southwest horizon at 8:25 p.m., traveling toward the northeast as the ISS zips up the East Coast.
It would rise to about halfway between the southeast horizon and the zenith - straight overhead - by 8:28 p.m. Then it would pass very close to the planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus - the two are very close together now in the eastern sky - before disappearing at 8:29 p.m.
If somehow the forecast improves, I will post viewing opportunities for the coming days. But I'm not holding my breath.
Posted by: Michael Fowler | March 25, 2008 5:31 PM