I also tried to see the shuttle, but it was a no-show from my site (coordinates below), though I was potentially lucky with an apx. 100 km wide strip of clear skies at that time over my area according to the Nottingham satellite weather service. I looked from UTC 22:27 until UTC 22:37, centering on UTC 22:32, according to the nominal launch time of UTC 22:10:03 (source: "Florida Today"), but nothing showed up (...as should have 20-25 deg low over my SW/SSW horizon). Most probably the Shuttle was already in earth shadow at that time, but maybe some observers in France were luckier with that. Overall conditions (both in terms of weather and geometry) were much better there. The Mir complex showed up reliably at UTC 22:09,5 with mag -1.0/-1.5 some 37 deg over my local SSW horizon, mostly with a yellowish colour, but for a few, maybe 10-15 seconds, turning to a distinct bluish colour. On the local news at UTC 23:00 I just hear the shuttle has been launched. Well, better luck tomorrow..?? Alex ----------------------------------------------------- Alexander Seidel N 53.5932 E 9.4683 6m asl Dankersstrasse 22 --------------------------- D-21680 Stade, Germany Fon/Fax (+49) 4141 68772 ----------------------------------------------------- brixham wrote: > > Tried to see the shuttle launch via the web but with no luck, all servers > too busy. > I thought the shuttle would be too low to see so I did not bother to look > for it. Instead I waited for Iridium 20 to flash by I saw 6 flashes at > zenith and 2 flashes as it went south of me. > Glad I stayed out the shuttle went by at aprox 23:27 BST with the tank > slightly to the north with an orange glow. The shuttle was aprox -1 max with > the tank about 2. I was really impressed. I can't wait for ISS now sp the > shuttle passes my latitude again. > > Regards Steve Daniels > I.T. Technician > 50.245N 3.34W 210ft