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I saw the ISS through my scope

jnb

By jnb
in The Astro Lounge

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jnb

jnb

Posted
Posted

Looking at the details for an ISS pass I noticed that if I swung the polar axis down to the horizon I had a fair chance of watching it through my scope by treating it as though I was at the equator and it was orbitting with a incllnation of 0°.

Against all probability it worked!

4" refractor with a magnification set to 40x as I wanted to maximise the field of view to maximise my chance of success and I successfully tracked the ISS by hand. Through the scope I could clearly see structure, particularly the "H" shape formed by the main body and solar panels. I have to admit I was well chuffed at achieving that, as visitors to the observatory probably gathered from my cry of "got the b*gger" :-). Now my next target is to do the same with a camera attached.

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

Posted
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I got it through my 12" SCT. And it was completely by accident. I nearly jumped out of my moccasins! It looked like a scene from Star Trek. If I didn't already know what the ISS looked like, I probably would have called Harvards' Astro-Physics department. "What the heck was that?!" :p

Wow - Nice Catch Indeed,

Dave

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I've seen it briefly in my dob. A distinct H shape was seen though mostly blurry as it moves so fast.

I like that description. I have seen it in my 10x50 bins and it was H shaped. I usually say it was bullet shaped with rectangle ears. H shaped sounds better and easier to type.

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ghostdance

ghostdance

Posted
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Managed to track it for the first half of its pass (the 6 minute WSW to E the other evening) - first time I'd managed to keep it in view for that long, but my 32mm just showed brightness, no H shape or any definition. Will try a 20mm next time but that will really be a toughie I think. Speed across the FOV is really fast compared to by eye! Fun to attempt though and regular opportuities to go sniping :)

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astronymonkey

astronymonkey

Posted
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Good spot, well done.

Ive managed it for about 30secs with my dob at low power. The trick seems to be to catch it low as it comes in for a high level pass and before it picks up angular speed. If you can get it where its going to pass high overhead then once located low down then all you need to do is try and track it rising vertically as it appears to pick up speed.

Cheers

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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There's a pass tonight at 22:15-22:18. Trouble for me is that i cant see it when it comes over the horizon on a pass like tonight. I only see it for about the last 30 seconds before it enters earth's shadow again. Other passes are longer and brighter and it covers the whole sky. So i wont bother trying to track it tonight.

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AustinR

AustinR

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I cant say its ever interested me to watch them. Im not a big film person. I am however a fan of Star Trek - The Next Generation.

Matt.

If not for the love of the film why not watch them simply to gain context for one of the most referenced peices of pop culture ever created? Especially in these circles.

It's like never having heard a Beatles song.

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gooseholla

gooseholla

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I should of stuck with saying it looks like an H!! 

Reminds me of when I saw a commerical airliner pass in front of the sun during a solar observation. Startled me so, I jumped away from the scope.

I know what you mean. I poop myself everytime one flies in front of the Moon.

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