Latest Astronomy Diary & History in the sky

Friday 4th of March 2011 - Clear skies so the children watched the ISS and Discovey and the Scope came out.  Orion Nebula showed great detail and then using my Google Android App I went in search of Andromeda.   A fuzzy patch told me I had found the Galaxy.  My son got his first look at another Galaxy.

Sunday 5th of March 2011 - Early evening cloudy but still got a glimpse of the ISS and Discovery.  Late evening was very clear but too late to get the scope out.

Monday 7th March 2011 - Observed history in the making as Discovery now undocked from the ISS started its returning orbits. The ISS and Discovery now separated passed clearly across the skies south of Horsham they looked like two shiny stars following each other.  Old enough too remember the start of the Space Shuttle programme it was sad to see Discovery pass over for the last time as it moves into the pages of Space history. 
The choice of the name "Discovery" carried on a tradition drawn from some historic, Earth-bound exploring ships of the past.  Two British Royal Geographical Society ships have carried the name "Discovery" as they sailed on expeditions to the North Pole and the Antarctic. Most people seeing the ISS and the Space Shuttle would have dismissed them as planes.  Things change but the Shuttle programme was my generation and its sad to see it go.