Space Station Easily mistaken for UFO

Just saw the international space station for the first time.
It was flying quite low across the horizon, and anyone who has seen it will know that at some point it becomes very bright. Its flight path was very much like a plane but it dissapears in the middle of the sky as it moves out of sight of the sun.
I,m sure that this will of been confused many times for a UFO especially if you dont know that it can be easily seen with the naked eye.

Dont be so sure!

I mean it could have been an alien UFO following the exact same path as the ISS, behaving like ISS, no doubt having the same shape as the ISS almost to the point of being ISS, but still be an alien UFO.

Right?!?!

reply to post by merka


You may be right! however i,m 99.99% sure though that it was the iss.
But you never know.

"The truth is out there"

reply to post by neo2012


One of my favorite things to track...the ISS (especially when in orbit with the shuttle which brings it down to a lower orbit). And given the fact that they have recently added additional solar panels to the ISS, it can be very bright.

Here are a couple of links that you may be interested in to track the ISS, shuttle, satellites and orbiting telescopes from your area. I see that you are in the UK, so the first one is linked to the UK page...

NASA HumanSpaceFlight

and

Heavens Above

Actually, I think that this is a good thread. Most of these things can look like a "moving or floating star", meaning they don't blink (like many satellites) and can easily be confused with a ufo. It's good to remind people that some of these things actually belong there!

Star for you.

BTW, check out it's orbit (if you can) when the shuttle undocks from the ISS. It's an awsome sight to see the shuttle following behind the ISS. Looks like two very bright stars chasing each other...very cool.

[edit on 13-2-2008 by hsur2112]

reply to post by hsur2112


Great links. I shall be looking out tonight again, especially now i know what time to look for it.

The links you posted are great reference points for anyone who has seen a UFO. At least if you check out what time the ISS was visible in your area you can cross it off as being what you have seen.

Too many people see bright lights in the sky, which are silent, and assume they have seen something out of the ordinary, when really it is most likely a normal object ( if you can call humans in a tin can in space normal).

reply to post by neo2012


I once had the oppoortunity to see both the Space Station AND the Shuttle in the sky at the same time, the Shuttle following several degrees behind the ISS soon after un-docking. I knew it was the ISS and shuttle because they were in the exact place at the exact time heavensabove.com had indicated. They were the brightest objects in the dusk sky at the time -- the ISS was brighter than Venus.

I can understand how that sight of two very bright lights moving silently across the sky along the same path and only separated by 20 +/- degrees could make someone think they saw a UFO.

[edit on 2/13/2008 by Soylent Green Is People]

Just wondering if anyone has a picture of the ISS when it is very bright, would of taken one tonight but it turned very cloudy.
It would show people who havent seen it what it looks like and how, being that it can be the brightest thing in the sky, it can be mistaken for a UFO.