[FPSPACE] FW: Space Station Flares

[LARRY KLAES]

> From: swlist at spaceweather.com
> To: swlist at spaceweather.com
> Subject: Space Station Flares
> Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 14:33:03 -0500
> 
> Space Weather News for May 26, 2009


> http://spaceweather.com
> 
> SPACE STATION FLARES: Lately, a growing number of observers are reporting intense "flares" coming from the International Space Station (ISS). During some nighttime flybys, the luminosity of the space station surges 10-fold or more. Some people have witnessed flares of magnitude -8 or twenty-five times brighter than Venus. A movie featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com shows what is happening: sunlight glints from the station's recently expanded solar arrays in a shadow-casting flash. Currently, the flares are unpredictable. You watch a flyby not knowing if one will happen or how bright it might be. That's what makes the hunt for "ISS flares" so much fun.
> 
> Sky watchers in North America should be alert for flares this week. The ISS is making a series of evening passes over many US and Canadian towns and cities. Flyby times are available from the Simple Satellite Tracker: http://spaceweather.com/flybys
> 
> Would you like a phone call when the ISS is about to fly over your hometown? Sign up for Space Weather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com 
> 
> You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com. 
> 
> New subscribers: To sign up for free space weather alerts, click here: http://spaceweather.com/services/
> 


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.friends-partners.org/pipermail/fpspace/attachments/20090526/e1cec987/attachment.html