Credits/Disclaimer

The locating system applet was developed by Patrick Meyer and Tim Horvath for exclusive use by Science@NASA. It is intended for entertainment purposes and should not be used for detailed analysis.

Description

J-Pass locates the next time a satellite will cross your sky.

When a satellite pass is found, a line indicating an estimated location of the pass will cross the sky display. Where the line is green the satellite is in sun-light.

J-Pass will also display an estimated rise and set time for the satellite.

Using J-Pass

1. Select your city or put in your latitude and longitude (Help! I don't know my latitude!). If you manually enter your location, be sure to press the enter/return key after entering the data.
2. Select a satellite.
3. Click "Next Pass" to see it cross your sky.
4. If you only want night passes, be sure to select the night pass check box.

Help

If you do not know your current latitude, you can try the follow sites which may have this information:

• U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Only).
• International (Confusing Interface).

A sun-lit satellite in a night sky is the best viewing condition assuming good weather and lighting.

If you tried to print, this version of JAVA (1.0) does not support printing. You can use a screen capture utility to take a snap shot for printing.

You may recognize the planets as the colored spots in the sky display. The planets are -

Configurations

• 30 degree Checkbox - the center of the sky above your head is delineated as 90 degrees and the horizon (Where you see the sky meets the earth in the distance) is 0 degrees. In between 0 and 90, trees and homes usually block your view of the first 30 degrees. If you click the 30 degree check box, the plot "zooms in" to exclude the first 30 degrees. This is so you can get a better idea of when you will actually see the satellite when it comes into your sky. If you live where you can see the entire sky (on a mountain, in the plains, etc), leave the checkbox off.
• Planets - turns on labeling of planets.