PICTURES: The SpaceX Dragon crossed the Irish sky last night
After a day of delays due to stormy weather, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule
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Here’s the moment the rocket blasted off. Nothing out of the ordinary, but let’s face it – no matter how many times you watch a launch it’s always a bit incredible.
Florida is a long way away though, and UK space fans used to have little chance of seeing a space rocket leaving the planet. But social media is changing all that.
Dedicated space-watching accounts such as Virtual Astronomer have made it much easier to track a spacecraft’s path across the sky, work out whether you can see it from your house, and conveniently nip out for a quick bit of rocket-gazing.
Here are some of the amazing pics taken as skywatchers across Ireland and Britain tracked the Dragon’s passage through our night sky.
@ObservingSpace #ISS over #Clonmel church tonight #Ireland #space #internationalspacestation pic.twitter.com/VJrpmFi48G
— Jonathan Ryan 📷 🎙🚨📻 (@Tipperaryphotos) April 15, 2015
Just spotted @AstroTerry, @stationcdrkelly, and the rest of the gang aboard the #ISS, all the way from Ireland! #ESA pic.twitter.com/6dJ5RcCpam
— Gary O'Keeffe (@garyjokeeffe) April 14, 2015
Good evening to all in @Space_Station from Co. Clare #Ireland #ISS #yourethewhitedot pic.twitter.com/ArzVutFp1G
— Cealtra (@clarevirtually) April 14, 2015
In binoculars I saw the magic #Dragon puffing little clouds of gas, came out as the faint blue trail here :-) pic.twitter.com/E71L4211IX
— Richard Fleet (@dewbow) April 14, 2015
Here's my pic of #Dragon flying over. You can see how trails from solar panel covers come & go as they catch the Sun. pic.twitter.com/apwQCmv9S0
— Will Gater (@willgater) April 14, 2015
Even more amazing was being able to spot the Dragon’s destination, the ISS, as it appeared particularly clearly throughout the night.
@VirtualAstro @PeoplesAstro #ISS Space Station from @OldBuckenham , Norfolk, UK.
— 𝔽𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕪 (@flarkey) April 14, 2015
@Saint_Stefanus pic.twitter.com/vq9PTemkt4
@VirtualAstro @BBCStargazing @BBCWalesNews @dailypostwales @Space_Station 12x15 sec exposure. ISS over North Wales. pic.twitter.com/OFEUd8E9Su
— ACro (@A_Cro) April 14, 2015
@VirtualAstro tonight’s second iss pass over Rhuddlan castle pic.twitter.com/pnQtkYldxK
— Lokko (@L0KKO) April 14, 2015
At times we could even see the Dragon apparently “chasing” the ISS across the heavens.
@SpaceX Dragon chasing the #ISS tonight over Moneygall, Ireland. busy night in the sky @VirtualAstro pic.twitter.com/F3hDOJ4BW3
— Brian Donnelly (@brdonne) April 14, 2015
@VirtualAstro tonights @SpaceX #Dragon pass over #Stockport @Tim_O_Brien # pic.twitter.com/ncQeL33Q2R
— Mark Forbes (@SCN_ZBOYD) April 14, 2015
@SpaceX #Dragon and #ISS over London in same frame @VirtualAstro pic.twitter.com/nxIkuffp9B
— Graham Bowes (@GrahamBowes) April 14, 2015
And if you missed the spectacle last night, don't worry - tonight, you can see both craft roll around once more, side-by-side. Astronomy Ireland says they will appear at 9.14pm Wednesday "in an absolutely stunning spectacle plainly visible to the naked eye."
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