This topic is designed as a working example of how interpret posted transit data. The example shown is for a predicted transit of the Russian Space Station Mir on April 14, 1995 at 8:50 to 8:52 in the evening. The ground station location is referenced to the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton Virginia. If you live less than 60 miles away from the Center, then the data is not altered significantly. If you reside further away however, then be prepared to mentally interpolate the data depending upon your position with respect to the transit.
Note the beginning and ending times are posted for when Mir is above the horizon by a minimum of 20 degrees elevation. The reason for this "20 degree elevated horizon" is because of the exceptional difficulty in spotting satellites below 20 degrees elevation in our area due to haze, ground reflection, etc. Therefore, the posted transit times do not reflect the full interval when Mir is actually above our horizon.