Space Weather News for May 15, 2003<br />http://spaceweather.com<br /><br /><br />Sky watchers in the Americas, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia can see a<br />sunset-red lunar eclipse tonight, May 15th and 16th. Today's edition of<br />spaceweather.com describes a few more things that will appear in the sky<br />around the time of the eclipse: Iridium flares and a transit of the Moon<br />by the International Space Station.<br /><br /><br />IRIDIUM FLARES: Sky watchers in the western and central United States are<br />favored to see some pleasing Iridium flares during tonight's lunar<br />eclipse. "Some cities that will have decent flares are Phoenix, Salt Lake<br />City, El Paso, Minneapolis, Omaha and Missoula," says space scientist Rob<br />Matson of SAIC, who also forecasts Iridium flares for the International<br />Space Station. Most of tonight's flares will appear higher in the sky than<br />the moon. "With a wide field of view camera, however, it may be possible<br />to capture a flare and the moon in the same field of view," notes Matson.<br /><br /><br />SPACE STATION TRANSIT: This is for advanced observers. Along a narrow path<br />stretching from Dallas through St. Louis to Chicago, sky watchers can see<br />the International Space Station pass in front of the eclipsed moon<br />tonight. Like the moon itself, the ISS will be inside Earth's shadow, so<br />it will be dark--a ghostly silhouette racing across the dimly-lit lunar<br />terrain in less than a second. You have to be at the right place at the<br />right time to see it. Forecaster Thomas Fly has prepared maps and<br />timetables for the central United States and other places where these<br />transits may be visible.<br /><br /><br />Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information.