The last pass...
I went out into the nearby quiet field at about 18:45, and put my tripod down in the direction of the lovely conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter. I knew that the Shuttle/Station pair would pass right through the middle of the conjunction, adding a third brilliant point of light to the scene for a couple of minutes. I kept an intent gaze on the evening glow where the last light of the Sun was visible on the evening sky. The moment the clock said 18:34, my heart leapt - I instantly got a surge of adrenaline as I saw the lovely shining cosmic traveller skimming through the clouds to the clear sky where the Moon and Jupiter were sitting. I was alone, but I couldn't resist telling myself that I was seeing the amazing combined light of Discovery and the ISS for the last time. They sailed by the Moon, and climbed higher into the sky - the ever-travelling point of cosmic light which always seems so peaceful - so disconnected from, and unaffected by, the world below it. As it climbed past Orion, I left the camera for a few minutes, and visually absorbed what I was seeing. The horizon was still glowing faintly, and the lights of the nearby village did nothing to damage the scene of our greatest human achievements silently and swiftly carrying our greatest humans across the sky at 17,500 Mph. The silhouettes of the trees and woods, and the most perfect quiet of the otherwise empty field in the late evening were a perfect frame against which to view this artificial star. For these few moments, life was perfect, and the pure beauty of the scene far surpassed the slight sadness I felt as the finality of what I was seeing sank in. All too soon, they were reclaimed by the cloud. An astronaut once said "It's impossible to appreciate the most amazing moments while they are actually happening", and I see what he meant - I will only begin to grasp the magnitude of the occasion when I get much older, and can truly appreciate what that silent star crossing the sky for the last time really meant. My pictures of the event can be seen here.
EDIT: Link fixed!
EDIT: Link fixed!
Total Comments 10
Comments
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Why the last time? Discovery will still be on orbit tomorrow.Posted 03-07-2011 at 06:45 PM by garyw 
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I feel your pain bro! I really do.... I have this thought of "Now what?" No matter what I think of though It just doesn't seem to compare to the shuttle and prolly won't in my lifetime. Maybe the next president will love this country enough to "revive" NASA
Posted 03-07-2011 at 07:37 PM by deltawing777
Updated 03-07-2011 at 07:40 PM by deltawing777 -
It's always amazing to see how you can write about such stuff
. I'd like to see the images, but when I click the link I just get a page with a "404".Posted 03-07-2011 at 09:12 PM by astrosammy
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:hesaid: 404
Posted 03-07-2011 at 09:19 PM by deltawing777
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Awesome. An emotional roller coaster. Especially the ending with the 404 conclusion. As I'm reading I'm thinking: "did he get pictures, did he get pictures, YES! he got pictures, awww where are the pictures?" I couldn't have written it any better myself.
Posted 03-07-2011 at 09:21 PM by jimblah
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I think this is the correct link for the images: http://gkastro.a60.us/photossats4.html there are some pretty nice pictures on there!
Posted 03-07-2011 at 09:43 PM by woo482
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Oops - for some reason, the URL is wrong. It should be http://gkastro.a60.us/photossats4.html
That kind of ruins the atmosphere when you end on a 404 XD
I know it's not actually the last pass (I saw them again tonight), but it's the last time they will combine brightness to make the super-bright light we see when they are docked.Posted 03-07-2011 at 09:45 PM by george7378
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Pictures look cool Ty for sharing :)
Posted 03-09-2011 at 03:40 AM by deltawing777
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Posted 03-09-2011 at 06:38 AM by JEL
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Great photos! Where i live its always too cloudy at night to see even stars.Posted 03-10-2011 at 12:11 AM by Eli13
