ISS over France tonight 02/08/2015

[davefrance]

Pretty well lit tonight, best of the bunch

[JamesF]

That's very nice.  Well done.

What method are you using for tracking, or are you just pointing the camera and hoping for the best?

James

[davefrance]

The latter James. Have done it many times now so it is getting easier. Sometimes it is better lit overall and it is hit and miss whether it is focussed correctly.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thats an absolute cracker. You can see the depth of field in the image.

[Davey-T]

Well caught Dave, I watched it go over then went to bed as the forecast clear sky didn't materialise

Dave

[laudropb]

Very nice image. Thanks for posting.

[ghostdance]

Golly. 

My gob is smacked...

I'm still in awe that you manage this by pointing and hoping. You must have a few Leprechauns about the place

[Garethr]

Dave,

That's a great image mate.

It's on my list of things to try for but haven't had the time to sort out a way of getting the image. My scope can track at 800 X is this fast enough?

Theory was to spend time pre aligning then hit the record button and try to keep pace across the sky to grab as many frames as possible

Don't know if it will work but could be fun trying.

Gareth.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thats an absolute cracker. You can see the depth of field in the image.

I wonder how that would look if converted into a 3D image. The kind you have to wear the red/green glasses for. I bet it looks sweet.

The stars in the background are just icing on the cake. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this is the best image ever that i have seen off the ISS. Others have been amazing but they were 2D flat. This is so well lit that it has a 3D look.

[davefrance]

Thanks everybody for your kind words.

Dave,
That's a great image mate.
It's on my list of things to try for but haven't had the time to sort out a way of getting the image. My scope can track at 800 X is this fast enough?
Theory was to spend time pre aligning then hit the record button and try to keep pace across the sky to grab as many frames as possible
Don't know if it will work but could be fun trying.

Gareth.

Sorry Gareth but I don't know if 800 x would be fast enough. I only know that when it is directly overhead it is moving pretty fast and hard to keep in view.

[davefrance]

I wonder how that would look if converted into a 3D image. The kind you have to wear the red/green glasses for. I bet it looks sweet.

The stars in the background are just icing on the cake. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this is the best image ever that i have seen off the ISS. Others have been amazing but they were 2D flat. This is so well lit that it has a 3D look.

Thanks Paul, I think the lighting is luck, you can get perfectly focussed shots but if only a small part is lit then it looks rubbish. I did three passes without a decent image because the lighting was not good and only a small portion of the station was visible.

[JamesF]

I guess we can do a rough estimate.  It's very rough, but should give an idea.  If we said the ISS takes three minutes to go from horizon to horizon, that's what a star would do in twelve hours.  Sort of

Twelve hours is 720 minutes, so you'd be needing to cover 720 minutes worth of arc in three minutes, or 240x sidereal rate.  If the mount can do up to 800x sidereal then it certainly looks feasible.

Obviously the ISS doesn't follow the same path as a star most of the time (if at all) so the figures aren't going to be spot on.

James

[davefrance]

I guess we can do a rough estimate.  It's very rough, but should give an idea.  If we said the ISS takes three minutes to go from horizon to horizon, that's what a star would do in twelve hours.  Sort of

Twelve hours is 720 minutes, so you'd be needing to cover 720 minutes worth of arc in three minutes, or 240x sidereal rate.  If the mount can do up to 800x sidereal then it certainly looks feasible.

Obviously the ISS doesn't follow the same path as a star most of the time (if at all) so the figures aren't going to be spot on.

James

Normally more like 6 minutes from 10 degrees to 10 degrees above horizon.

[JamesF]

That just makes it even easier

James

[Pete Presland]

Fantastic capture.

[davefrance]

Fantastic capture.

Thanks Pete