Imaging the ISS

[long_arms]

Hello,

I am having a first attempt at the ISS this afternoon. I will be using my 200p f/5 with a point grey webcam at prime focus.

I have tested this out on a couple of smaller satellites and both times it has been overexposed (had the gain up high). Although they were so small I don't think I would have got any sort of shape if it were correctly exposed...

The ISS will be Magnitude -3.4 tonight (considerably brighter than Jupiter even!) , so I was just wondering if I should stop down my scope? I am just worried that even with the gain right down it will still be overexposed.

I know this is an abnormal imaging target, but if anybody has any advice it will be muchly appreciated!

Merry Xmas,

Dan

[Freddie]

Leave the gain quite high and you want a VERY short exposure, something like 1/1200 sec or maybe even shorter and add in a touch of gamma. No need to stop down the scope.

[Steve Ward]

it's a bit of a hit and miss game as you'll soon discover . . . . . . Exposure-wise I would set up on Jupiter and adjust the settings to show a very dim image , I've always set up this way using Venus as a guide.

Good tutorial here with advice on settings , shooting and processing . . .

If you get the chance to , set up and practice on a 'low' pass first and then you can tweak if required for a higher pass 90 odd minutes later if one is forthcoming.

Bear in mind that on an overhead pass the ISS is about 225 miles away , on a lower pass it can be up to 700 miles away and therefore appear a lot smaller.

Happy hunting , it's a great challenge,

Steve.

[tingting44]

i HAVE to have a go at this soon!! amazing results in the above video

[Rihard]

Hello,

I am having a first attempt at the ISS this afternoon. I will be using my 200p f/5 with a point grey webcam at prime focus.

I have tested this out on a couple of smaller satellites and both times it has been overexposed (had the gain up high). Although they were so small I don't think I would have got any sort of shape if it were correctly exposed...

The ISS will be Magnitude -3.4 tonight (considerably brighter than Jupiter even!) , so I was just wondering if I should stop down my scope? I am just worried that even with the gain right down it will still be overexposed.

I know this is an abnormal imaging target, but if anybody has any advice it will be muchly appreciated!

Merry Xmas,

Dan

Hello Dan,

that's a very challenging but probably rewarding task

How did you get on eventually?

If it's not too late, you might wish to take a look at Ralf Vandebergh website, he's the satellite spotter who imaged the doomed Phobos-Grunt Mars Probe and other cool stuff

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Riky

[Steve Ward]

And not forgetting M.Legault . . . if you want to take things to the edge . . .

http://www.astrophoto.fr/

Steve.

[long_arms]

Hello...thanks so much for the replies!

Typical of british weather I haven't had a good clear pass of the ISS since my original post : ( !!

I have however had a couple of dummy runs with satellites making a high pass. I think I have got the settings sorted now (thanks steve I went for the dim image of Jupiter idea).

It is a real pain imaging with a laptop when a meridian flip is involved...I'm gonna have to employ a little helper to hold the laptop as I chase a dot with the scope.

WoW the images on those websites are incredible, I'll be happy with any sort of shape for my first run.

Come Saturday I will hopefully have an image. FINGERS CROSSED!

Dan

[Steve Ward]

Try a 5m USB extension lead to get the laptop out of the way , you'll need to be concentrating trying to get the ISS on the chip without distractions.

Steve.

[boris sputnik]

When I tryed ,I had only 1 good pic out of 2700...and it was a bit overexposed. But still ,it's a lot of fun ! I will do it again.

[Steve Ward]

Great shot , instantly recognisable . . .

My first attempt yielded no frames from 6000 . . .

As you say it's great fun . . . if it was easy then everyone would be doing it . . .

[boris sputnik]

Great shot , instantly recognisable . . .

My first attempt yielded no frames from 6000 . . .

As you say it's great fun . . . if it was easy then everyone would be doing it . . .

I tryed before but my red dot finder was not very well align so no ISS...It must be perfectly aligned ,and don't look at the laptop . Keep your eyes on ISS and keep it on your red dot ( or finderscope cross)...

Thanks and good luck dude !

[Steve Ward]

I find it easier to put the red dot just in front and let the target pass through the line rather than continually chasing it , I found I was tending to be just behind it most of the time to start with,

Because the orientation changes continually from the start of the pass to the end I find you have to chop the AVI into pieces in VirtualDub and process each section separately or you get a smeared final stack.

[boris sputnik]

I find it easier to put the red dot just in front and let the target pass through the line rather than continually chasing it , I found I was tending to be just behind it most of the time to start with,

Because the orientation changes continually from the start of the pass to the end I find you have to chop the AVI into pieces in VirtualDub and process each section separately or you get a smeared final stack.

Next time I may try to stack a few of them if the quality is good enough ,but for the picture you saw , I put the video in VideoPad and it shows me all individual frames. from there I picked the only not so bad shot... The technique you use is interesting ,I think I will try it next time !

Clear skies to you !

Maxx

[Ludd]

I've had more success using a DSLR than with a webcam, as there's a greater chance of catching the ISS on the bigger chip. The down-side with my gear is that the camera can only shoot at up to 1fps - I kind of wish I had a Canon 5D so I'd be able to shoot with an even bigger frame and at frame rates up to 30 fps.

Here's one from Easter 2011 through my C8, slewed by hand on a GP equatorial mount:

[Ludd]

and a slightly more recent one, showing how much spare sensor space there is!