More on tracking the UARS' reentry.

Ever get the sense that things won't go exactly how you think it might go?

Take a look at Aerospace Corporation's (US research arm) satellite reentry tracking site, specifically the UARS reentry tracking map (below).

First, I suggest you go to the Aerospace site to read the map key and information about their predicted time and location and debris field of UARS' reentry.

Look very closely at the map, and you can see Hawaii and the US Pacific Northwest, just minutes within the general path of the satellite's predicted reentry.

According to their prediction, visible reentry starts at 4:04 am UTC Sept 24.  That's 6:04 pm on September 23, in Hawaii, and 9:04 pm September 23, in the Pacific Northwest...regardless of sunlight or not, it should be visible if it's burning up upon reentry.  There is a decent chance of seeing part of the reentry.  I will definitely be keeping track of this and plan to get outside if it continues down this path.

NOTE: Heavens Above is not showing any passes (visible or otherwise) in their tracking, anymore.  But it is useful to see where the current location of the UARS satellite is.

ADD: Weatherspace has a live Ustream video of tracking the location.

Stream videos at Ustream
And of course, nothing goes as planned, even at the last hour...it's now scheduled to reenter between Antarctica and Australia, at 5:10 am Saturday, UTC (10:10pm Friday in Portland / 7:10pm Friday in Hawaii). It's not slowing down its orbit, but it is slowing down its descent.

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UPDATE: Nothing...na da...zilch...zero. Was outside, no such luck with any glint of the UARS flyover in Portland. It's past reentry time now, and it's still tracking online, so there's a glimmer of home in the next 30 minutes, if it doesn't fall down by then.

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UPDATE2: Apparently it came down, somewhere, at some point, because they're no longer tracking it.

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UPDATE3: NASA says the satellite dropped down sometime between 4:23 and 5:09 UTC, or 9:23 pm and 10:09 pm in Portland -- that should have placed it closer to the Pacific Northwest and into Canada, according to its speed and path. And an astronomer enthusiast in France captured some video of the spacecraft rotating around in its trajectory, with sunlight reflecting off the craft while in orbit.  Note that this was not of the spacecraft burning up in the atmosphere upon reentry.