Happy April, everyone! March just marched on by for me but the one thing that I can tell you that I truly enjoyed was viewing the International Space Station on March 17th! Now maybe all of you have seen it many times and is just a kind of a ho-hum thing for you to see but Richard and I were pleased to see it fly right over! (You will see it called the ISS but my friends, I will type out "International Space Station" EVERY time because, well, that's just how I roll! Drives me crazy how EVERYTHING is just initials now, I don't know half of what folks are talking about!) Anyway, before my old annoyed self butted in, I was telling you about looking at the sky....
Now, what did it look like? It looks like a very bright STAR moving across the sky, there are no flashing lights or anything and it does not change direction. You will NOT mistake it for an airplane as it moves much faster! (Airplanes fly at 600 MPH and the Space Station flies at 17,500 miles per hour!) So, remember, it looks like a moving star! Richard and I watched it until it was gone out of sight. And it made me smile to think of someone else in another part of the country and then, another part of the world, also eagerly looking up to view it! There is a site from NASA that shows when it may be viewed in your area. You may see it just here!
Of course, you may look up at the sky at any time! During the day to see the lovely clouds and each and every evening, you may see the moon in all its phases. And it is FREE! And thinking of the moon, I do hope that you have all seen the film "Apollo 13". It is based on the book by Jim Lovell, "Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13". If you have not read it, you should do so! At the end of the film, Jim Lovell is shown shaking hands with the astronauts aboard the ship, the IWO JIMA. He was offered to play an admiral but he refused with this reply: "I retired as a captain and a captain I will be". Isn't that just a nice thing to learn? (I recognized Jim Lovell when I saw the film but I only just learned that quote from him.)
What song for this post? It has to be the one that I instantly thought of when I watched the International Space Station come up through the tall pines and then, go across the sky in front of us like a bright shining star. It is a song by EARTH, WIND and FIRE!
Happy April! I hope you have a wonderful month ahead. I haven't read Apollo 13 but now I feel like I should! HAHA I'll have to look into it.
ReplyDeleteYes, please read that book by Jim Lovell! I just know you will like it as much as I do. Happy April to you!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the free show!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! I do enjoy free, you know!
DeleteHappy April to you, dear Kay!
ReplyDeleteYou know I have a thing for all things space - maybe you remember my posts about Alexander Gerst, the first (and so far only) Germany commander of the ISS*. You also know how much I love looking at the sky; it is the first thing I do when I come into my kitchen every morning, and often the last thing at night before I go to bed.
I am not sure whether I have ever seen the ISS crossing the night sky; there have been sightings when I was sure but others dissuaded me, and I did not follow up with research to find out whether I had been right or not.
* Ever since I started my Librarian training (and even before that, actually) in the 1980s, I was living in a world of abbreviations and acronmys - it's part of the job, really, and this has been going on all my adult life, no matter what job I had.
Whenever I come across a combination of capital letters that I don't know the meaning of, I ask or do research, as I don't like using them without understanding them. But especially in German, we have such very long words that blow up any text you write or read; no wonder we prefer the acronym! For instance, compare Datenschutzfolgenabschätzung with DSFA :-)
Yes! I most certainly remember your love for space! And if you look at that link, I think you can see where and when it might be passing over in your area too! (I think so anyway, let me know.)
DeleteAnd we all must shorten words and even phrases in our everyday lives but it has gotten to the point where people are coming at me all day long with letters and I don't know the meaning! LOL! And tee hee...I like that word so much you told me, I have to type it here. "Datenschutzfolgenabschatzung". Except I can't put those two little dots over that last A.
According to the site you have linked, I have just missed a good viewing window between March 30 and April 3 - only that we did not have clear night skies during that time, so even if I had known about it, I doubt I would have been able to spot it.
DeleteNot sure if you have seen other replies from me here but I also saw it the same day I did this blog! Nothing doing if it had been the 5th and 6th, both nights very rainy and stormy!!
DeleteIt is an amazing sight to see and often confused with a shooting star. I haven't seen it recently but used to watch the stars a lot when we were camping in the country. I got to see it many times then.
ReplyDeleteA shooting star is usually quite faint, isn't it? The light reflected off the International Space Station is a strong, steady light and it moves with a special kind of grace across the sky. I was thrilled to see it! And guess what, after I typed this post on April 4th, I saw it again!
DeleteI do hate it when that happens. I wrote a comment and it disappeared. I can never bring myself to go through the whole things again. I have been watching the ISS (I wrote it in full for you the first time) for decades in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere skies. Like so many things in the sky it's very hard to get tired of them.
ReplyDeleteHey Graham! HA HA! No worries, I really don't mind if you type ISS, truly I don't, but it made me laugh when you told me that you typed it out the first time but lost the comment!
DeleteHow wonderful it must be to have observed the skies in both the Northern AND Southern hemispheres. A very special thing indeed.
Now i've looked up that site, and i know we can see the International Space Station the day after tomorrow, just at sunset. If the clouds haven't dispersed by then, i'll keep checking back. Thank you so much for that link!
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you see it!!
DeleteAnd guess what, I saw it again after I typed this post on April 4th!!
Wonderful photo's of the moon. I didn't know we could see the Space Station.
ReplyDeleteYes! And all you have to do is go outside and look up at the sky at the time that you know that it will be visible in your area!!
DeleteWhen in London I often saw something, possibly the space station, twinkle its way across the night sky.
ReplyDeleteLook at that site and see if you can see it in your area sometime soon. Let me know if you see it! It will please me greatly!
DeleteI just missed seeing the space station, darn it! It was last night at 8:29pm. However, it was a rainy day so I might not have been able to see it but I would have tried!
ReplyDeleteKeep that site handy! Also your local weatherman might mention when it is in view and if weather will cooperate. I was tickled to find that site and share it here. Keep looking up!😊
DeleteI'm not really interested in space travel etc., believing there are far more important issues on earth the millions of dollars spent could be used to alleviate those issues. Just my opinion...
ReplyDeleteTake care...I hope you enjoy the Easter weekend. :)
We only have one Earth. But there must be some people you'd like to send to Mars. I have a whole list!! LOL! Happy Easter to you. x
DeleteWe have SpaceX 20 minutes from the house... McGregor Texas.
ReplyDeleteThey roar the engines while testing them...great feeling.
hugs
Donna
Oh dear, I just looked it up and I feel sorry for the folks who live even closer. They said it rattles their houses! They are supposed to be "working" on the noise. Let's hope so. Happy Spring, Donna!
DeleteDear Kay, it's been months, maybe a year or more since I visited your blog and read your wonderful postings that always teach me something new and that always have me singing or tapping along. I so hope now that things have settled down in my life that I can visit your blog more regularly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the song, I'd never heard it before.
And thanks also for sharing your musings as you watched the International Space Station overhead. What you said put me in mind of my belief in the Holy Oneness of All Creation. we are all One. We can all look up and see the sky, the moon and in the looking there is connectedness. Peace.
Dear Dee, How happy it has made me to see your sweet comment here!Happy to introduce the song to you, it's positive and encouraging. We are all connected, you know I believe so. Happy Easter to you! God bless you always. Peace to you.
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