These pages feature astronomical images and notes by Philip Masding 

Observation location: Altrincham, near Manchester UK (53.4° N  2.4° W)

What's new November 2007 

• Resolved flare of Lacrosse 3
• Calibrated satellite light curves
• A grazing occultation of Saturn
• Comet Holmes

Comet Holmes on 29/10/07 and 02//11/07

March 4th 2007 A Total Eclipse of the Moon 

The STS-115 mission has added the P3/P4 truss and new solar panels to the ISS. These passes are in XVV mode and show the new panels well. In October one of the panels was partly in shadow.

		After mission STS 120 the Port 6 structure has been moved to the end of Port 5 structure so there are now 2 panels there. Both are dimly lit in his image. Also added is the  Harmony Node 2 which is situated on the forward end of the Destiny Laboratory. Node 2 provides attachment points for the European Columbus laboratory and the Japanese Kibo laboratory.

ISS on 26 July 2003. Flight mode is YVV or Local Vertical Local Horizontal. Alongside the image is a screen shot from a VRML simulation of the ISS. The simulator is available for download from this site. 

Send comments & suggestions to the webmaster