Third time .....

..... lucky. ( the ISS passing the masts at Keighley gate )

I've been working at home today, but had an enjoyable hour at lunch time in town. The weather has been lovely today with no need for a coat and plenty of smiling faces around. I popped in to the local cycle shop to buy a couple of spare inner tubes and a new water bottle for my bike and then had a wander around the sale room where I bumped in to a couple of people I hadn't seen in ages.

This afternoon I had an nice hour and a half bike ride with Ali and Mr M. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and cycled past fields full of new born lambs with the brow of every hill revealing another beautiful scene in front of us. On the return journey I started thinking about what new location I could go to photograph the International Space Station ( ISS ) this evening. It was as we were riding through Nesfield that I spotted the masts at Keighley gate and decided they would make a good foreground.

Once I'd gotten home from the bike ride I had a quick bite to eat and then set off on the half hour continuous uphill walk from my house in the valley, to the masts on the very top of the moor. My legs were a bit tired after the cycle ride, but the weather was mild and dry without too much wind and it was a very enjoyable walk. I arrived at the masts 10 minutes befere the ISS was due to appear and had time for just one test shot before taking this. I'm chuffed with this photo which is straight out of the camera without any editing or cropping. The constelation of stars in between the masts is Leo and the moon is just to the frame at the right.

After taking the photo I lay on the heather looking up at the stars for half an hour watching other smaller satellites fly overhead before having a steady stroll downhill back home ( stopping to watch brighter satellites as I went ). I've put two other photos from tonight on my Flickr photostream.

Thank you all so much for the lovely response to the last couple of days less successful attempts at blipping the ISS, I'm a bit behind on responding to comments but will catch up over the next day or two. As I'm a persistant little bugger ( not my words ) today's blip is .....


.....Third time lucky ( the ISS passing the masts at Keighley gate )