I've tried to use JPass and SatScape programs..but failing at figuring this out. (feeling terribly inadequate and frustrated here)

I just need to know precisely WHERE WAS the International Space Station (ISS) on

March 10th, 2006 between 6:34 PM to 6:36 PM Pacific Standard time (USA West coast)

I live in Portland, Oregon.
My zip code is 97266

I need to know where it was, and how high it was etc. - as much detail as possible to help determine something VERY important.
Please can someone help me find this out???

Thank you so much

Cinders

That's one heck of a good question, has to do with orbital mechanics, I'd say. Actually, my degrees are in biology and phonetics, so I'm not sure how to proceed with this one either! However, I know that there are engineers and people who can absolutely help you with this over on the BAUT bulletin board. I'd post your question in the Astronomy forum and see how it goes there.

Lilly

On March 10th 2006 the ISS passed over Portland Oregon (from NW) at exactly 6:32:42 PM and diseappeared at 6:35:30 in the Eastern skies...it was 10 km high when it appeared, 37 km at it's heighest point and diseappeared at 10 km...that's all i have...

(And another pass at 8:07:56)

Hope it helped !

Thank you sooo much Lilly and Patsp!

BUT Do you know how high this was??

My 1990 VHS Camcorder can barely pick up even low flying planes or copters in the area let alone the ISS! I am sooo frustrated right now.. beyond belief...

What I saw and video taped came from the WEST direction and headed EAST. It was cruising and hovering and flying lower than the planes or copters in my area at about 800 to 1000 ft above my house! This object headed east and QUICKLY CHANGED directions and then dove into the clouds.. Would the ISS do that sort of thing?

I am so frustrated right now.. beyond belief! I know what I caught on video IS NOT THE ISS. Unless the ISS flys LOWER than the planes in Portland, Oregon neighborhoods.

I have to run and deal with twins, hubby and shopping, but I am so upset enough to upload this d@mn video.. WITH complete details about it.

Be back soon...

Changing direction ? can't be the ISS then...

As i said, the ISS was at 37 km high in your area, that makes about 23 miles or so...NEVER the ISS will go below that, it's in space !

Impossible too to pass through the clouds...

THANK YOU for the figures and everything! I could just hug you! YOU MADE MY DAY!

With me being from the US (husband is even from the UK and is bad with meters! ) , I am bad with the distances you gave.. so I went here to convert the information you provided:

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/length

So if the ISS was at 10 km it would have been 32,820 feet or 6.2 miles and if it was at 37 KM it would have been 121, 400 feet or almost 23 miles!

NO WAY would my VHS Camcorder pick up ANY thing that high, with the clarity that this object shows on my video.. NO way was this the ISS.

What ever I video taped- it flew LOWER than the copters and planes around here. When I first saw it, before I was able to grab my camcorder to tape it, it was about 800 to 1000 feet MAX AND this object ALSO changed directions abrubtly before going INTO the clouds.

Hey no problem, happy to help !

Cinders,

If you were videotaping, odds are you wouldn't have picked up the ISS anyway with a common video camera. All that's generally visible in the short sighting opportunities on the surface of the Earth are a minute or so of a dot in the sky, traveling steadily in a northeasterly direction. It looks little different from a high flying aircraft.

But the altitude of the ISS is relatively constant at approximately 220 miles, and it could not possibly be as low as 23 miles (you'd definitely see that..vis-avis the fireball!)and it doesn't change direction, nor could it pass into clouds...it's a couple hundred miles higher than any clouds...so you're correct, whatever you were filming wasn't the ISS.

And thank YOU so much! I just need to get this together and UPLOAD this somewhere and somehow for some to see .. I am just not looking forward to any stress as I did in 1992..

I ALSO taped something VERY strange in 1992 - right here, where I still live.. and MUFON messed that investigation up so VERY bad- I only recently truly realized their BIG mistakes in December 2005.

This object I recently video taped looks eerily "similar" and seems so much the same as the one in 1992. I am just SO very apprehensive to reporting THIS to anyone..

My 1990 VHS Camcorder is still in pretty decent condition (rarely used in past- sat in a case for years! I only started using it again in the past few months) , but there is NO way it can video tape an object such as the ISS so far away as what I video taped March 10th, 2006.

You can upload the video to this site if you would like.

UM Media There is an upload function near where your username appears.

Thank you for letting me know. I just might. .. I wish I could also upload the 1992 video as well, but that one is 247 megs.. and you hear me cuss..It was in our area for well over 25 min, we were VERY scared, I finally get to video tape this, and the VHS camcorder is heavy, I'd loose it in the lens.. hence my cussing a few times on it.

The object in 1992 and this recent one look and seem VERY similar.. the one in 92 was seen and video taped much later in the evening (taped around 11:00 pm) than the one I recently taped.

This recent one I video taped is only 48 megs in size and I only whisper "shi.." once in the beginning of the video as I was fumbling to turn on the Time and date stamp on the recorder, and I look into the lens and see I am loosing site of it and I run out to the street in front of my house, wearing only white sweat socks trying to walk on wet mushy cold grass!

I just received more confirmation from someone who REALLY researches these things and has done this for several years.. and HE said this was NOT the ISS! *what a relief!* AND believes what I recently taped is ALSO what I video taped in 1992.

I tried to grab a few still shot images of this recent object

There is a very faint flash that first appears to the upper right - that is the plane that is farther east but coming towards my house- flying west towards my house. - the white strange object is in the Lower area in this video. It came from the west and is heading east.

After the white object changes direction and dives into the clouds, I pause my camcorder, and I walk up to my front porch looking for it in the EAST, but its gone- then seconds later, the plane that I saw ABOVE this object is flying SW past my house.. it is heading west, and that is what you see AND hear at the end of this video. The PLANE was flying HIGHER than this object. I just know this silent strange moving white object was NOT the ISS.

I tried to fit a couple pics on Image shack here (NOTE: I had to resize the pics very small for these few to fit):



BTW, the camcorder is ONE HOUR ahead.. I've not bothered to change the time back because it is almost time for us to move the clocks one hour ahead soon. but I do say that on the video.. I mention what the REAL time is as I record this object.

I think you had better rerun those numbers my friend.
The ISS is much higher than 10-37km (6-23 miles) !!!

If it was at that height, you had better head for shelter, quick!

Here is NASA's site for tracking the ISS et al. Unfortunately, at the moment I write this, the Java applet is down on the site, but just give 'em a few hours and try again.
I don't know the actual orbital height off of the top of my head, but I would wager it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-400 km, rather than 10-37.

Initially, I thought this was a question having to do with formulating orbital calculations (oneself) for tracking the ISS.

Now, I see that the question actually is about what was filmed on Cinder's video tape. Alas, I'm not too helpful with this one either!

You're right !

I wanted to say DEGREES of altitude but i wrote height !

At this time of year, the ISS is at it's highest point of about 358 km...that makes 222 miles...that makes a BIG difference ! lolll

I had even wrote NASA for help on this question long before I posted this on the forum, but they have not responded to my email.. (oh well)

So I am very greatful for all your input on this. Because of all of you, I am 100% positive that I did not record the ISS on March 10th, 2006.



Cinders

I get it. You were talking about right ascension and declination. That makes much more sense!

Yeah i think they're the english words i was searching...

I am still trying to figure out whether or not I video taped the ISS.

I've been searching all over the internet for any video's done FROM the ground of the ISS as it passed over them.
But all I am finding are various pictures - no video:
A few pics found on these links:

http://www.racingshadow.com/OtherEvents/sa...SS/ISS2003.html
http://www.racingshadow.com/OtherEvents/sa...SS/ISS2002.html
http://www.badastronomy.com/pix/bablog/2005/ISS_big.jpg
http://www.universetoday.com/am/uploads/2005-1006iss.jpg

And none of these pictures look at all like what I video taped (a few snapshot images from what I video taped below):

The one image with a CIRCLE around it is the plane that is seen farther east above the white object as I start to video tape this:

http://img219.imageshack.us/my.php?image=o...031020064yf.swf

If anyone has seen any VIDEO of the ISS done FROM the ground as the ISS has passed over them, please let me know.

By the way, the ISS (depending on its magnitude but most often) looks like a "moving" SIRIUS, the brightest star in the sky at this time of year...

SIRIUS can be found in the constellation Canis Major, i think that it's about (here in the East) FULL SOUTH at about 6 PM...just East of Orion. On March 10th the ISS was 0.0 MAG in your area about the same as SIRIUS. Go out tonight and compare, that will give you a good idea. But the ISS NEVER changes direction, and NEVER diseappear in clouds...i've seen the thing about a thousand times...

Was definitely NOT the ISS...

When I first saw it, it was very close, very slow moving and BIGGER than Sirius. So close that I thought it was a heli at first -but it NEVER blinked and I could not HEAR ANYTHING. I kept waiting for this object to blink - it never did, then I ran and grabbed my Camcorder and went outside and taped it.

So did you get a chance to review "IT" then?? It DOES change directions before it dived into the clouds.. I was wondering if what ever it was did that because the plane that was originally seen farther east above this object, and the plane was coming closer west (towards my house)

My husband keeps telling me it is NOT the ISS - but I have to hear it from others.. LOL (He thinks it's the same thing I taped back in 1992)

Not yet, i'll get back to you...

To add to all this confusion....

I tried to draw what it looked like AT FIRST SIGHT with what I saw with my EYES only as it flew over head my house. It was intense bright WHITE (I am a terrible artist but hope you get an idea) It was not ROUNDED like a star at all when I first saw it.

The shape was odd and I thought at first it was some sort of helicopter... but it was completely silent and I never saw it blink... The ARROW direction is which way it was flying from where I was watching it .. and it looked like this:



After 10 seconds of waiting for blinking or noise from this thing as it passed by I later video tape it as it is heading east away from me. As I was watching it in the east though, it looked ALOT like what I video taped in 1992 only it was intense bright white.