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What is this...?

J_N_Y

By J_N_Y
in Getting Started With Imaging

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J_N_Y

J_N_Y

Posted
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Hi All,

So, I ordered byself an xbox livecam, did the standard adaptations to fit it to a mount and had a go at using it the other day.

All in all - for a first attempt at a low moon i was pretty happy. As i've said elsewhere my main interest in astroimaging is to be able to show friends and family etc.

Anyways, I was shooting the moon on Thursday at about 12:30am.

Moon Video

On looking back at this video - 2 things struck me.

Firstly - looks like i was clumsy with the webcam alterations and have a speck of dust on the sensor, towards the bottom middle. can i blow this out or should i just leave it there (it's not too imposing).

secondly, what is the black shadow passing the screen. Being completely green in the astro world, my Girlfriend and i think it could be:

  1. A rock/asteroid of some type (would one even be able to see this?)
  2. The ISS maybe (long shot but looks that rough 'shape')
  3. something within the telescope itself, dust between webcam/barlow etc?

Any takers? this has us both puzzled!

also, on a seperate note - this was my first attempt at using prime focus protography. I was pleasantly surprised that the webcam could focus without the use of a barlow. Pretty happy with a first attempt. I haven't got the motor drives for the eq5 so tracking is not happening just yet - which I assume precludes me from using registax for stills. so for just the telescope+webcam+Sharpcap - are there any obvious things i should be doing with prime focus to make a better

Many thanks

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JamesF

JamesF

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I can't find any evidence of a lunar transit for the ISS that might fit the location and timeframe.  I have no definite alternative to suggest though.  It's entirely possible that I was too narrow in my search.  If you go to the Calsky or Heavens Above websites and put in your exact location they should be able to give you a list of ISS transits.

There is one thing missing from the list of possibilities however.  Two things at a push, but I'm not inclined to believe the second is correct in this instance.

The first is some sort of flying animal.  The second is an aeroplane.

James

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J_N_Y

J_N_Y

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Thanks all for your opinions. Feel a bit silly for not thinking of a bird! All your suggestions have ckeared it up a bit!

Sorry, the initial video is at x2 speed, the second one is 'normal' speed - just a low framerate!

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

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Scorpius

Scorpius

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Couldn't be a plane - no blinking lights. Or a bird - silhouette isn't right plus no wings movement whatsoever. Strikes me as something larger and further out. Whatever it is, it's very intriguing so anxious to see if anyone can identify it unequivocally. My guess is space junk in a decaying orbit but could be the Michelin Man after too much helium the night before... :)

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Zakalwe

Zakalwe

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Couldn't be a plane - no blinking lights. Or a bird - silhouette isn't right plus no wings movement whatsoever.

A soaring bird has virtually no wing movement, but I now agree regarding the shape.

I doubt if it is space debris as it is travelling way too slow for anything in orbit. Foe example, the ISS transits the moon in well under a second. To me, it looks like a cluster of party balloons.

https://youtu.be/2h5XprYoLho?t=1m28s

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Scorpius

Scorpius

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A soaring bird has virtually no wing movement, but I now agree regarding the shape.

I doubt if it is space debris as it is travelling way too slow for anything in orbit. Foe example, the ISS transits the moon in well under a second. To me, it looks like a cluster of party balloons.

 

https://youtu.be/2h5XprYoLho?t=1m28s

OK - Didn't know the ISS transited that fast but if it's balloons - how do they remain packed so tightly together throughout the entire video that no hint of moonlight shows through in between? Here's a webpage that has formulas for distance, angular size and linear size. http://planetcalc.com/1897/Maybe someone smarter than me could plug-in some values to see if the object's distance is consistent with a cluster of party balloons. From what I've been reading there's a limit to how high a standard helium filled party balloon can go before popping which seems to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 ft. So if the math were to show its distance as say 10,000 feet or less the balloon theory gains momentum but higher than that would begin to shed doubt on a cluster of balloons - at least in my mind...

I would guess the approximate linear diameter for a cluster of party balloons is between 1 - 2 meters and the angular size should be able to be determined by reference points on the moon. So any math-whizzes out there willing to take on the challenge of testing the party balloon theory mathematically?

Not disputing the possibility it's balloons - would just be nice to have a little more to go on than a rough shape and a lot of speculation...

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JamesF

JamesF

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The ground track of an ISS lunar transit is short and very narrow (about 7km wide) and I can't find any that were predicted for the OP's apparent location during the time in question, so whilst I'd like to believe that's what it is the evidence doesn't seem to support that assumption as far as I can see.  Even if a transit were visible from Greece that night I think it would be very unlikely to be seen from the UK.

If someone does have evidence suggesting that there was a transit with a ground track through the Wirral I'm sure the OP would love to see it, and I'd be most pleased for them if I were proved wrong.

James

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Tzitzis

Tzitzis

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Didn't mean to question your former post  I was just excited cause the shape of the object in the video looks a bit like the shape of ISS over the moon in the links.

You must be right cause I saw a link in NASA's website that shows day, time, exact location and for how long the ISS will be visible in the sky of your location. 

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Zakalwe

Zakalwe

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I would say that it tracks waaaay too slow for the ISS. The ISS takes about a second to transit the full Lunar disc.

I can't see this video from my (ancient NHS) PC today, but is it a shadow of ISS, rather than ISS itself? Still pic on #12 looks like shadow.

That might account for apparently incorrect track location. Maybe?

Nope. How small would the shadow of an Earth satellite be by the time it got to the Moon? It wouldn't cast a shadow. In addition, the ISS orbits at 400Km. So if it was casting a shadow, then so would the Earth...in other words, there would be a lunar eclipse.

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Tommohawk

Tommohawk

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Nope. ......, the ISS orbits at 400Km. So if it was casting a shadow, then so would the Earth...in other words, there would be a lunar eclipse.

Agreed. I think I inadvertently engaged "hasty speculative thinking mode"

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