I can see it now, Headlines---The International Space Station Appears to Explode in the skies over Waterloo, Iowa! --- or so it seemed to my son and I. With the times and directions of the next crossing of the ISS in my pocket, we headed for our small downtown to watch the yearly "My Waterloo Days" fireworks extravaganza. Within a minute of first rise of the station I spotted the brightening dot of reflected sunlight moving ever higher in the sky. As it passed just under the moon I exclaimed to several puzzled strangers to my right and left, "See that? That's the International Space Station!" Then the fireworks began. Moments later I was torn between watching the pyrotechnics or the station---a tough decision for me. Before long however, I was enjoying both, simultaneously! The station passed right through the line of fire. As we watched, as if with one mind, my boy and I said, "No way that'll happen.", yet it did! As a lone shell sparked its way upward and slowed, it perfectly aligned itself with the station and........BOOM! It exploded in a sphere of colored sparks coming from what appeared to be the station itself. What a perfect setup! The best of both worlds came together for a guy that loves to see (and cause) explosions and feels a strange sense of comradery with a glowing spot of light hurtling through space some hundreds of miles away. What a treat. Something to write on the kitchen calendar. Tom Iowa USA P.S. As it turns out, one of the people that I excitedly approached knew me by name. (!?!) We were both in a the local astronomy club back in the late 70's. We hadn't seen each other since. Coincidentally I've been meaning to join the new astronomy club here in town, of which he is a member, and I consider this an omen to do just that. :~) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe from SeeSat-L by sending a message with 'unsubscribe' in the SUBJECT to SeeSat-L-request@lists.satellite.eu.org http://www2.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 01 2001 - 21:58:13 PDT