Doubly Dazzling

A few nights ago I was leaning back in the outdoor tub, beginning to soften, as the 102-degree water soaked the aches from my body—under a clear, dark sky. I'd been watching the overhead stars from time to time, but at the moment was not even looking upward. Suddenly I felt a strong urge to direct my gaze overhead, and spied a bright object floating south-southeast. My previous experiences at discerning the difference between high-flying planes and satellites immediately told me that this was the latter. From the brightness of the object—far more dazzling than any star or planet—I also felt certain that it was the International Space Station (ISS).

Shaking with excitement, I watched it for the next few minutes, as it headed towards the horizon, and then suddenly it blinked out, as it entered the Earth's shadow. I sat there, up to my neck in hot water, thrilled that I had not missed this spectacular show and wondered what may have called my attention at this propitious moment. Still in the midst of my dazzlement, I then saw another satellite appear in the exact same location and pursue the same exact path—following it by only a couple of minutes.

Now I was really blown away! Tears streaming down my face, I experienced a moment of incredulity. There is only one ISS, but I had just witnessed two identical bright lights! I sat there stunned—trying to make sense of what I'd just seen. And I was sure that I'd observed a real double dazzle satellite show. I was not hallucinating. What had happened?

Then an explanation popped to mind: I remembered that the Space Shuttle Discovery had been visiting the ISS on its final mission, and was scheduled to undock and head back to Florida for its final landing and then get decommissioned. I must have seen both Discovery and the ISS—one trailing the other for awhile, before the Shuttle fired its braking rockets and descended towards home. The tears continued to flow for awhile—partly in awe of the spectacle that I'd just witnessed and partly in deep gratitude for whatever called me to be in the tub at this time and to look up at the right moment.

I knew what I'd do to verify my guess about what I'd seen: in the morning I'd go online and visit a couple of my favorite Websites—one being NASA's page on the Shuttle program and another that lists the times and properties of satellite flyovers. Yes, NASA said that the ISS and Discovery had been flying close to one another the night before, with the Shuttle in the lead. Discovery had undocked the day before, had circled the ISS, and then moved ahead of and below it, in preparation for landing a day later.

The Website that gives satellite flight details across your very own sky is heavens-above.com. It's built and maintained by a German enthusiast. When you visit the site, you need to enter your latitude and longitude (or the nearest major city) and then the site's program calculates your local times for ISS overflights, its brightness, and its path across your sky.

I've used this Website several times, to predict a time and location when I can go outside and be prepared to watch the ISS go by. It's a really spectacular show. I've sometimes alerted neighbors and friends, to share the event.

It's not an uncommon experience to see the ISS go overhead—after all, it circles the Earth several times every day. But most of the time it doesn't put on a dazzling show, because it may pass during the day, or be too close to the horizon to spot, or be invisible in the Earth's shadow. Only about twice a month are conditions such that this largest of all satellites can be seen so bright.

So that makes my experience of seeing both the Space Shuttle and the ISS so unique and sensational. Truly doubly dazzling!

Back in the tub the night before, I very slowly came down from my satellite high—now lying back, eyes riveted to the sky. I saw three more satellites over the next hour—none of them holding a candle to the scene I'd earlier witnessed—but still thrilling in their own right.