I just... - Page 8

Carruthers · 10-19-2014, 02:41 PM

I just went outside to watch the International Space Station pass overhead. There's no moon as yet so it was the brightest thing in the sky.
I'm not familiar with the scientific method of determining brightness, but I'd say that it was probably brighter than I've ever seen Venus.

I'm no astronomer but I do like to know what's going on around me. I remember Dad showing me an early Echo satellite when I was very small.
The Echo craft were, I think, balloons so their reflective surface would be substantial. I used to spot Skylab from time to time and I think that my best sighting was a Shuttle chasing the ISS to rendezvous.
Difficult to estimate, but I think that it would have been about fifty miles in trail. I have a feeling that that was the penultimate Shuttle flight.

Gravdigr · 10-19-2014, 03:20 PM

Got Mom & Popdigr up at about 3 one morning to watch the shuttle pursue the ISS across the night sky. All 3 of us have seen the full size mock up shuttle up close and personal, so, it was fairly awesome to associate that with the tiny bright dot zooming across the sky behind that other bright dot.

Carruthers · 10-19-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

All 3 of us have seen the full size mock up shuttle up close and personal.......

Just wondering, where was that Grav? Cape Canaveral? Smithsonian?

It's so I can plan my next trip. That's the one I shall probably never have the chance to make. Oh, well...

Gravdigr · 10-19-2014, 03:37 PM

I believe that was at The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Maaaybe Canaveral.

We went to Florida almost every year during my childhood, and our usual route took us through Alabama, so really it may have been either place.

Carruthers · 10-19-2014, 04:04 PM

The ISS has just passed overhead once more but unseen by me.

In the ninety minutes since I last saw it, the crew will have seen the sun rise and set once more.

They will have flown over several continents and mighty oceans.

I have been as far as the kitchen to make Dad and me a cup of tea.

Such is life.

BTW Thanks for that info, Grav.

lumberjim · 10-20-2014, 12:30 PM

I just saw a Bald Eagle. A big one. It perched on a tree above our building.....but it was in a spot where the only place you could see it from put the Sun behind it. I don't know if anyone here was able to get a good picture.... I'll try to post one if they did.

Carruthers · 10-20-2014, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumberjim

I just saw a Bald Eagle. A big one. It perched on a tree above our building.....but it was in a spot where the only place you could see it from put the Sun behind it. I don't know if anyone here was able to get a good picture.... I'll try to post one if they did.

There's a series on TV here at the moment about the work done by the charity Hope for Wildlife based in Nova Scotia.

Friday's episode featured a Bald Eagle that was seriously weakened after a severe storm.

The first thing the Vet did was to completely tape up the bird's talons having first shown them to the camera. Evidently capable of doing great damage.

Good spotting, Jim. If you don't mind me asking, are you in PA? I have a feeling earlier posts might have indicated that. If so, is the Bald Eagle a resident species?

xoxoxoBruce · 10-20-2014, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Evidently capable of doing great damage.

500 to 1000 pounds pressure...

lumberjim · 10-20-2014, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carruthers

There's a series on TV here at the moment about the work done by the charity Hope for Wildlife based in Nova Scotia.

Friday's episode featured a Bald Eagle that was seriously weakened after a severe storm.

The first thing the Vet did was to completely tape up the bird's talons having first shown them to the camera. Evidently capable of doing great damage.

Good spotting, Jim. If you don't mind me asking, are you in PA? I have a feeling earlier posts might have indicated that. If so, is the Bald Eagle a resident species?

I'm in NJ at work. Cherry Hill, which is about 5-10 miles (as the Eagle Flies)due east of center city Philadelphia.

Apparently, there are a few nesting pairs not far from here.

Quote:

In fact over the last 20 years bald eagles have become a regular presence over New Jersey bodies of water statewide. According to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDFW), as of a 2012 census, New Jersey has 119 active nesting pairs of bald eagles.

Here's the best one I could get:

Carruthers · 10-20-2014, 03:26 PM

Thanks for the info and picture, Jim.

It's astonishing how often large wildlife lives in close proximity to urban areas.

A pair of Peregrine Falcons has nested for several years on a large office block in nearby Aylesbury, but there is a large supply of rather sluggish town pigeons available as easy pickings.

Gravdigr · 10-20-2014, 03:52 PM

That was cool.

Griff · 10-20-2014, 04:22 PM

We saw a bald eagle fly over the stadium just before kickoff for my nephews high school football game on Saturday. It was apparently a good sign, 55-14 good guys.

We get a lot of baldies around here, they're spreading outward from the Susquehanna. Pete and I saw a juvenile while paddling a couple weeks ago.

Griff · 10-20-2014, 04:35 PM

Pic of Pete as the eagle shots are too tiny.

lumberjim · 10-20-2014, 08:18 PM

I just ...had a Scottish customer. She said my Scots accent was quite good actually.

an ah doon think she was avin' me on

Griff · 10-20-2014, 09:29 PM

10-19-2014, 03:20 PM	#107
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Got Mom & Popdigr up at about 3 one morning to watch the shuttle pursue the ISS across the night sky. All 3 of us have seen the full size mock up shuttle up close and personal, so, it was fairly awesome to associate that with the tiny bright dot zooming across the sky behind that other bright dot. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

10-19-2014, 03:37 PM	#109
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	I believe that was at The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Maaaybe Canaveral. We went to Florida almost every year during my childhood, and our usual route took us through Alabama, so really it may have been either place. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

10-20-2014, 12:30 PM	#111
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	I just saw a Bald Eagle. A big one. It perched on a tree above our building.....but it was in a spot where the only place you could see it from put the Sun behind it. I don't know if anyone here was able to get a good picture.... I'll try to post one if they did. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-20-2014, 03:52 PM	#116
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	That was cool. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

10-20-2014, 04:22 PM	#117
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	We saw a bald eagle fly over the stadium just before kickoff for my nephews high school football game on Saturday. It was apparently a good sign, 55-14 good guys. We get a lot of baldies around here, they're spreading outward from the Susquehanna. Pete and I saw a juvenile while paddling a couple weeks ago. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-19-2014, 02:41 PM	#106
Carruthers Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Buckinghamshire UK Posts: 4,059	I just went outside to watch the International Space Station pass overhead. There's no moon as yet so it was the brightest thing in the sky. I'm not familiar with the scientific method of determining brightness, but I'd say that it was probably brighter than I've ever seen Venus. I'm no astronomer but I do like to know what's going on around me. I remember Dad showing me an early Echo satellite when I was very small. The Echo craft were, I think, balloons so their reflective surface would be substantial. I used to spot Skylab from time to time and I think that my best sighting was a Shuttle chasing the ISS to rendezvous. Difficult to estimate, but I think that it would have been about fifty miles in trail. I have a feeling that that was the penultimate Shuttle flight.

10-19-2014, 04:04 PM	#110
Carruthers Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Buckinghamshire UK Posts: 4,059	The ISS has just passed overhead once more but unseen by me. In the ninety minutes since I last saw it, the crew will have seen the sun rise and set once more. They will have flown over several continents and mighty oceans. I have been as far as the kitchen to make Dad and me a cup of tea. Such is life. BTW Thanks for that info, Grav.

10-20-2014, 03:26 PM	#115
Carruthers Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Buckinghamshire UK Posts: 4,059	Thanks for the info and picture, Jim. It's astonishing how often large wildlife lives in close proximity to urban areas. A pair of Peregrine Falcons has nested for several years on a large office block in nearby Aylesbury, but there is a large supply of rather sluggish town pigeons available as easy pickings.

10-20-2014, 04:35 PM	#118
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Pic of Pete as the eagle shots are too tiny. Attached Images __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-20-2014, 08:18 PM	#119
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	I just ...had a Scottish customer. She said my Scots accent was quite good actually. an ah doon think she was avin' me on __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-20-2014, 09:29 PM	#120
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	__________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

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