Blogs are all about sharing, and today, we’re honored to have a dear friend and fellow amateur astronomer, Louis Suarato, share his recent “opportunity” to share an ISS flyover with a local law enforcement officer.

Last Tuesday night, inspired by the co-creator of this blog’s story about giving new neighbors their first view of the ISS, and given a heads-up by a Twitter friend, I traveled out to a clear western horizon site to view two ISS passes and two Iridium flares.

Shortly after arriving and setting up my tripod and camera, I began to take some shots to test the lighting, settings, and field of view.  Looking at the Heavens-Above chart, I noticed that the first ISS pass was going to be high and telephone lines would be in the way of the shot, so I moved across the street onto the road’s shoulder.  There was a field in front of me, but it was very uneven, and stabilizing the tripod would have been difficult.  Also, it was a bull pasture, and I didn’t want any surprises, above or underfoot!

I began to test my settings again, inching over when I had to avoid oncoming traffic.  The oncoming traffic included a County policeman who immediately u-turned and parked behind my car in the lot across the street.  I walked over to him, holding onto camera and tripod, and attempted to explain what I was doing.  He replied “Sir, stay right there please.”  I assume he then checked my plates.

Concerned with the time, I interrupted the officer and told him that I was attempting to take a picture of the International Space Station, which would be coming our way in four minutes and would travel directly over our heads.  I went on to explain how bright it would be with the last solar array having been unfurled, providing a broader surface for the sun’s reflection.

Fortunately, my appeal piqued the officer’s interest, and when I pointed to the bright point of light approaching from the WSW, that calm curiousity quickly became excitement.  As I handed him my 15×70 binoculars for a closer look, his reaction reminded me of the children who view through my telescope at the observatory.  His beaming expression, coupled with several “Oh, Wow!”s, were almost as good as viewing the ISS myself.

We were provided with a long clear view of the pass as the ISS made its way to the ENE horizon.  I invited the officer to return for the ISS’s second pass and the upcoming flares,  but he indicated that he wouldn’t be able to join me.  He left, probably still amazed by the view he had just witnessed and most likely forgetting why he originally stopped.

I decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to attempt a picture from a road’s shoulder.  I’ve done this several times, including on the TransCanada Highway and New York State Northway.  At this point, I am testing fate.  So, I moved to the back parking lot of the Correctional Guard Training Academy where there is a clear western horizon.  The next ISS pass would occur within seconds of the Iridium 41 flare and I was hoping to capture both in the same field of view.

I spotted the ISS for the second time that night, this time further north, and took two pictures.  When reviewing the images, I wished that I had extended the duration of the shot.  I had the camera set for five seconds – ten or twenty seconds would have been much better.  Fortunately, I’ll have plenty of opportunities for longer exposures.

I missed seeing Iridium 41.  It must have flared in the west while I was shooting the ISS, but I did see Iridium 43 eight minutes later.  It was magnificent as have been all the flares since I first began viewing them a year ago.

If you haven’t experienced seeing the ISS or Iridium satellite flares, I strongly encourage you to do so, and I encourage you to share it with a friend.  It’s an experience neither of you will soon forget.

Louis Suarato devotes much of his time to astronomy outreach, sharing both time and equipment at area schools, his local astronomy club’s star parties, and Dudley Observatory‘s public observing sessions.  He is also a regular contributor to AstronomyFM, a new online astronomy community that includes features like radio, forums, a chatroom, daily astronomy history, and amateur astronomy pictures of the day.  Last March, Louis’ image of a 3% crescent moon, achieved from the NYS Northway, was featured in the Spaceweather Spotter gallery.  If you’re on Twitter, you’ll find Louis at @LouisS.