Thanks Dai!

For reminding me that this week the International Space Station is visible at our latitude in the evening.

Heavens Above - find out what you can see and when!

Got home at 6.30, having been stuck in traffic. Legged it upstairs to get camera and tripod. Set up. Used my ISS trail map to figure out where I would catch it best. Ran back upstairs. Felt my knee go "Ping!" but ignored it.

I can't begin to describe my utter geekiness and excitement when, spot on time, it appeared over the western horizon, moving quickly and brightly across the sky. Awesome. I think it took about 2-3 minutes in total, from horizon to horizon and it was just utterly beautiful - just to know that the tiny (although not THAT tiny) bright travelling star contains fellow human beings who are busy being scientific, who no doubt are looking back down at Earth and reflecting on life back down here.

I'm guessing the brightness and increased size is possibly to do with NASA's final Space Shuttle mission - with Discovery currently docked and working on the installation of the Leonardo module as well as delivering spare parts and equipment for the ISS.

I have to confess to feeling quite sad about this being the final shuttle mission. I remember all of the students at my primary school sitting in the school hall, watching the first shuttle, Columbia, launch in April 1981. I also remember the loss of Challenger 28th January 1986 and and Columbia, shortly after re-entering the atmosphere on 1st February 2003.

The shuttle was, and still remains, a source of great fascination and interest to me, perhaps because back when I was a child, it made the prospect of "Space" seem much more accessible.

Only time will tell whether we will ever reach the stars. It won't be in my lifetime I suspect.

So, thanks Dai for the reminder, and for giving me something to ponder upon this evening.

Now it's painkillers for the knee, because I am not going to let it stop me going to the gym tomorrow!