Hubble Space Telescope... does anyone know if it is it viewable from the ground in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada?

Question

I want to look at it when the Space Shuttle goes up in October so does anyone know if I will be able to see the pair of them?

Answer 1

Yes, you can see it with your eyes. To get the exact time at which you will can be found from http://www.heavens-above.com

Please enter your exact location such as name of your town/city, etc. and it will tell you when and which direction to look.

Answer 2

i'm thinking probably not.

it's orbit only takes it as far north as gulf coast.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spa...

so unless it's quite high, it'll be below the horizon up in Edmonton.

Hmmmm,  360 miles high is a bit more than i'd thought.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Spac...

hmmm, maybe this would help.

typically, you can't see the ISS for more than 5 minutes when it comes over.

so, how many degrees does it traverse in that time?

360*5/90=20 degrees.

so i can see it when it's 10 degrees away from me.

the iss is somewhat lower than the hubble, but not a lot.

that being the case, i think it unlikely that you'll be able to see the hubble when the closest it gets to you is 23 degrees to the south.

Answer 3

You're in luck!

This website,

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/si...

shows the times that you'll be able to see the ISS and Space Shuttle for a user-given location on Earth. Simply select Canada in the Country drop-down box, select your town, or somewhere close, and go from there.

It won't actually show them yet, it will do that when the shuttle is actually in orbit. And it usually shows sighting opportunities for about a week in advance.

So visit this site after the Shuttle launches on October 4, 2008.

Canada's rather far north, though... and I don't know how far north HST is visible. It might actually be impossible for you to see it at your location.