>>> Geek Alert <<<

This might be over the top, but I thought it was fascinating:

Tomorrow evening (Tuesday) - if the weather is clear, you will be in for a treat in North Alabama - the International Space Station and Shuttle will be undocked, but flying close enough together for a neat sighting. It will be low on the horizon, but you are right on the cuttoff for best visibility. If you want to read more, check out the article at space.com.

Hartselle:
Date Mag Starts Max. Ends
18 Jun 2.1 22:46:52 10 NW 22:47:48 18 NW 22:47:48 18 NW
19 Jun 1.5 21:33:14 10 N 21:35:10 16 NNE 21:36:08 14 ENE
20 Jun -0.2 21:53:06 10 NW 21:55:43 47 NNE 21:55:43 47 NNE

Belmont:
Date Mag Starts Max. Ends
18 Jun -0.9 22:13:08 10 WNW 22:15:52 74 WSW 22:16:34 52 SE
19 Jun 0.4 20:58:54 10 NW 21:01:35 35 NNE 21:04:15 10 E
19 Jun 0.8 22:34:02 10 W 22:36:08 24 SW 22:36:08 24 SW
20 Jun -0.9 21:19:20 10 WNW 21:22:12 88 SW 21:24:30 15 SE

Now what's *really* cool is that for most of these, we see them in different passes at Belmont than you do in Hartselle (each pass is about 90 min apart, and the geometry has to balance perfectly to be in dark on the ground but have the ISS/STS illuminated above you by the sun - also, remember we are 1 hour ahead of you here). However, look at 19 June - the 21:33 pass for Hartselle is the same pass as the 22:34 pass for Belmont - it just becomes visible here about 45 seconds after it becomes visible in Hartselle, and for about two minutes it can be seen both from Belmont and Hartselle - HOW COOL IS THAT?

I got my data from heavens-above.com (my favorite for ISS/STS/Iridium Flare passes, etc), but the official NASA site may be a tad more user friendly.

Enjoy!

tim

(P.S. - can you tell I needed a break from school?)