Yesterday I found something than usual in the sky at about 14:.30 pm while I was out. Take a look at the following pictures. Some cloud lines are in a radial fashion. This has been referred to as the earthquake cloud in Japan. The earthquake cloud is said to be a phenomenon seen before earthquake happen. The rows of cloud are likely to band together just above the earthquake center. Yesterday's clouds seemed to converge on the east-southeast of Tokyo. However it doesn't always presages a big earthquake. I see the kind of cloud a few times a year.
Another event.
On my way home, I saw a long bright orange thing in the western heavens at about 17:00. What was this? At first I saw it as an airplane track reflecting sunset or something. However I was wrong because the track didn't grew further and disappeared out of sight within several tens of seconds. The airplane track wouldn't disappear so soon. Enlarging the ｐicture we can see the round thing in the head of the light. I wonder if it was a falling meteor or satellite.
Yet another..
This was just the celestial event without mystery. The International Space Station appeared 18:36 in the southwestern heavens and moved toward northeast, evanesced after three minites. It was orangey, looked like the evening star in size and brightness, faster than airplane. I tried to take a picture of it hastily but I couldn't unfortunately.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a huge manned construction located about 400km above the Earth. While it circles around the Earth at a speed of 17,700mph (or 90 minutes per orbit), Earth and star observation, or experiments and research are being conducted. ISS is intended to be utilized for more than 10 years after its completion. The primary purposes of ISS are to provide a facility where we can conduct experiments and research for a long term by utilizing environment peculiar to the space, to promote science and technology by utilizing the results of such research, and to contribute to daily lives and industries on the Earth.
http://iss.jaxa.jp/en/iss/index.html
(Nikon Coolpix L30)
