Seeing is believing for space enthusiast

LETTER - Replying to Mike Read’s letter, Star April 10, the object he saw accompanying the International Space Station could have been a secondary reflection in the human eye lens, like sunlight in a raindrop.

I saw the spacecraft but it looked like a single elongated object, probably due to a astigmatism in one eye.

If the double image was due to an accompanying object, it is interesting to work out what its actual separation was in yards, assuming the craft was 200 miles up and the minimum angular separation by sharp eyesight to be about one minute of arc (about 1/30 the angular diameter of the moon). The answer comes to 90 yards.

Perhaps Ray Otterhead could ask his NASA friend to send details of the spacecraft’s size and structure?

G Pearce, Shrewsbury

Have your say on  'Seeing is believing for space enthusiast', comment below

Alan Ward (2)
William A. Lewis
Earlyworld
Shropshire Magazine (468)

One Comment

  1. craig said:

    assuming the craft was 200 miles up and the minimum angular separation by sharp eyesight to be about one minute of arc (about 1/30 the angular diameter of the moon). The answer comes to 90 yards. are u single?? im presuming the answer is yes

Post a Comment

*
*

* Required fields. Your email is never published or shared.

Disclaimer: We will put up as many of your responses as possible but cannot guarantee that all comments will be published. We prefer short comments that include no external website links. We reserve the right to edit comments and will not enter into correspondence over editing decisions. Comments featured on the site are not representative of the views of the Shropshire Star or Midland News Association.