MadSci Network: Astronomy |
According to www.heavens-above.com, you should've seen ISS as it passed from 10 degrees to 64 degrees back to 21 degrees above the horizon. I was able to get a constellation map for Columbus, OH for October 3, 2001 at the time of the ISS pass from heavens-above.com: http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDetails.asp?SatID=25544&lat=39.961&lng=-82 .999&alt=0&loc=Columbus&TZ=EST&Date=37168.018894049 This map shows that the path of ISS did not cross that of the Moon. In fact, the Moon hadn't really even risen at the time of the ISS pass. Therefore, I don't believe the black lines you saw were ISS. What did you see? Maybe the atmospheric layer thing, maybe jet contrails. I emailed Chris Peat at www.heavens-above.com, which calculates ISS passes, and he's looking into this as well. Keep checking that site for updates.
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Astronomy.