Friday, October 01, 2010

Deep Space


Have you looked up in the sky early in the morning lately?

By early, I'm talking around 05:00 or maybe a little later, but not much.

One or the brightest objects in the sky is up there and it ain't a star. Nope, it's the International Space Station. How cool is that?

I'm always intrigued by that kind of stuff anyways, so it's the equivalent of showing me a bright shiny object to distract me from well.........everything. It doesn't take much - but you've probably figured that out about me a long time ago. Adult ADHD isn't so bad.

When the Hale-Bopp comet appeared back in '97, I would stand outside for hours just watching it. Sure it was moving moving moving, but down here where Kang and Kodos visit now and again, it just looked like it was hanging in the night sky for a week or so.

...and I didn't even own Nike running shoes or have a purple shroud. I will cop to drinking vodka sans the cyanide.

I don't really hang out in the morning to watch the space station, but I gaze up at it when I walk to the gym. Even yesterday morning, you could see a dull light through the cloud cover. You can't and won't mistake it for a star, it is way too bright and it's not really moving like a plane, so you won't be fooled by that either.

Of course, you might not be interested at all. It might just be me who is the dork here. No need to respond to that one.

But if by chance you've got the urge, here is where you can find it. Unlike the diagram, you don't really need a protractor or T-square to figure out where it is. Really - just look up and around till you see it. It's usually out west - at least from where I am.



Song by: Rickie Lee Jones

2 comments:

Cubby said...

I had you pegged as a space cadet months ago. This confirms it beyond all doubt :-)

Birdie said...

Fellow space cadet here. (I started my application to be an astronaut on The Challenger but left the state three months later.)

This is very cool. But it means I have to get up SO early! The best elevations do not match the best times, but maybe...

I do remember seeing the first Space Station go by, so fast it was gone in 5 seconds. You had to know exactly when to look. Purdue University has a channel with all the info.