shows which way the solar wind is blowing.-- FlyingToaster, Feb 19 2016 ISS sighting opportunities http://spotthestati...sightings/index.cfmSpot The Station will give you a list of upcoming space station sighting opportunities for your location. [Klaatu, Mar 09 2016] On the ISS, the top and bottom are referred to as "zenith" and "nadir", with the "nadir" direction being pointed toward Earth at all times, and that's the side with the multi- windowed cupola on it.-- lurch, Feb 19 2016 ^ Correct
// My wife and I saw the ISS go by yesterday evening //
Were you in a parking orbit, then ?
// the "nadir" direction being pointed toward Earth at all times //
The irony of that statement is breathtaking...-- 8th of 7, Feb 19 2016 // a full 360°x180° //
64,800 degrees ? That's one really smart photo ...-- 8th of 7, Feb 19 2016 Or a hot one. Never predicted Ian as a supermodel. Sorry Ian...-- RayfordSteele, Feb 19 2016 If this would work, it is a brilliant idea.
If not, please disregard the foregoing.
[+]-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 19 2016 It does seem like the total number of degrees or degrees^2 would be 360*^2 or 129,600.-- WcW, Feb 19 2016 If it was an ISIS weathervane would it feature a headless chicken? (Probably not in good taste)-- xenzag, Feb 19 2016 I'm not entirely certain, but if the solar wind were "blowing" hard enough to affect this device, the astronauts and cosmonauts within would have received a fatal dose of radiation.-- tatterdemalion, Feb 20 2016 [WcW] - you're on the right track: it's actually 129,600 / pi square degrees in a sphere; or about 41,253 deg^2.-- lurch, Feb 20 2016 // a fatal dose of radiation. //
Not necessarily. The "solar wind" which gives rise to auroral phenomena consists mostly of charged particles, not energetic photons, and can be blocked effectively by a very modest thickness of metal.
The danger arises more from "cosmic rays" which are ionizing and highly penetrating photons.-- 8th of 7, Feb 20 2016 It'll need some sort of scrolling read-out so the cock can doodle too.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 20 2016 // which direction on a space station is “atop”?// No gravity: it's all "atop".-- FlyingToaster, Mar 09 2016 random, halfbakery