SpaceX to launch 60 Satellites in one go
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planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
I hate sky stuff. 
Too light still here in west Wales, saw nothing.
Too light still here in west Wales, saw nothing.
smmudge
i know the smudge is true
Yay i saw it go over 
I was worried because it was quite light I could only see Venus and one star. But it was quite bright! Just looked like one bright star, not even a line. But that was cool, seeing it take off from the live stream then going over head 
Think I even managed to impress the wife lol.
I was worried because it was quite light I could only see Venus and one star. But it was quite bright! Just looked like one bright star, not even a line. But that was cool, seeing it take off from the live stream then going over head Think I even managed to impress the wife lol.
2hats
Dust.
Nice view from central London, even in a relatively bright sky, got to mag -1 , maybe -2 overhead. In binoculars could easily make out upper stage, separate satellite stack and the spent deployment rods loitering nearby, flashing as they tumbled. Stack plus stage looked extended even to the naked eye. Fast pass as relatively low (still in the initial parking orbit, which is some way below the operational orbit - about 200km up instead of around 500km).
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Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
I thought I saw it, then saw another brighter light as the first one was disappearing. Not sure which one was the one which just took off.Yay i saw it go over
Think I even managed to impress the wife lol.
2hats
Dust.
Was checking for venting or a COLA burn but saw none.
Next pass (around 2222BST but always start looking a few minutes beforehand) will be very low in the WSW and will eclipse under half way through. Satellites should be more spread by then but might still only be resolvable in binoculars.
Next pass (around 2222BST but always start looking a few minutes beforehand) will be very low in the WSW and will eclipse under half way through. Satellites should be more spread by then but might still only be resolvable in binoculars.
2hats
Dust.
So essentially what you were looking at was the upper stage plus stack of just-deployed satellites (see SpaceX tweet above) all in very close proximity to each other (you don't see the first stage nor nose cone fairing segments from the ascent video - they returned to Earth well over the horizon out over the Atlantic).
To the naked eye observer they looked like a very bright, extended blob. In small binoculars you could make out the upper stage separate from the satellites. You could also see the faint deployment rods spaced geometrically around the main bodies.
Tomorrow night the satellites should be spaced out a little and individually resolvable, perhaps more like this:
Maggot
The Cake of Liberty
What time is that?
2hats
Dust.
This will be about 2055BST tonight (but start looking several minutes before). They should appear as a tightly bunched train maybe around 20-30 seconds long, rising in the west below Venus, climbing through Gemini to not quite overhead in the SSW, then heading to eclipse before setting in the SE.
(This map for SE UK; the track will run a little closer to the horizon as one moves north, slightly earlier and closer to the zenith if you are west of there).
Should get to at least mag +2 (probably closer to mag 0) so, using those "several minutes before", if you can clearly see all the stars in the Plough overhead then you should be in good shape as regards sky brightness and eye adaptation. After looking for those then turn your attention to the patch of sky below and around Venus and wait.
Since the relative orbits are evolving quite rapidly right now I'll double check the times early evening.
2hats
Dust.
You might be surprised at how close that is to the US east coast - just over 200km off shore (first stage recovery zone for this launch was the larger shaded area on the right hand side here).Awesome can't wait
I think I was most impressed by the rocket landing back exactly on the X of the ship somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic!
platinumsage
HaveMyPassword123
Will any of the rocket still be there tonight or just satellites? Would it be worth taking binoculars or will it just be points of light?
planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
2hats
Dust.
All seems good - use the information above. But allow several minutes either side of the given times. In particular bear in mind it was written for SE UK, so the further you are west the earlier they will arrive (by a minute or two). The further you are north the lower in the sky they will appear (the track on the sky will be shifted closer to the horizon).
Heavens Above now has recent tracking data so go there if you want to generate pass information for a specific location.
planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
Couldn't even see Venus until 8.53. So disappointed.
Friend in north London reports the same - nothing. Sky too bright.
Friend in north London reports the same - nothing. Sky too bright.
platinumsage
HaveMyPassword123
It's wasn't too bright, but there was a thin layer of high altitude cloud.
planetgeli
There's no future in England's dreaming
No that was badly written. I meant it was too bright here in west Wales. We had no cloud, conditions were perfect - apart from a late setting sun (about 15 mins more evening light than London).
