Louisa Asked:

There days, the Progress Cargo Carrier, the Space Shuttle and the ISS are visible at the same time (got the time of visible pass by nasa and orbitpal.com websites).

Which good pair of field binoculars should I buy to see the detail of the structural shape of the 3 spacecrafts ?

Reply:

Believe it or not, Meade computer controlled telescopes will find and track any or all of these objects for about three hundred to 1,000 dollars. You need a basic DS or DSX or ETX model telescope and need to add an Autostar 497 (X models have this controller standard) hand controller. You need to download current ephemeris for the space station to the hand control and then the hand control will tell you when a pass is in the near future.

When a pass is due that you want to watch, the telescope will slew to the point just above the horizon where the space station will appear and begin a countdown to tell you when to be ready. When you see the object in the eyepiece, you press enter key and the telescope will come to life, motors whining to keep up, and it will track the space station across the sky.

By the way, these objects are easier to see after sunset, but all of them are visible in the telescope in broad daylight. One caution, tho. Check to see a daylight pass won't be too close to the sun (10 degrees.). Just imagine the damage to your Viagra whithout prescription eyes if a telescope swept across the sun.

What is amazing is how much detail you can see at about 50 power. On a clear day, you will see the complete structure of the ISS. You can see the shuttle docked and count the nozzles on the back and see if the cargo bay is open. I have never seen an astronaut outside, but I believe it is possible.

The telescope I use is a 100 mm (4 inch) Maksutov on a DS-2000 mount with an autostar 497 hand control. Walmart was closing these out after Christmas for $200.00. You might still be able to find one.