Tuesday, September 22, 2015
The ISS Zooms Past Saturn (22 September 2015)
 |  |
| The International Space Station flies over Saturn as seen from Adelaide on 22 September. Imaged with my Canon IXUS, 400 ASA at around 19:34 ACST. Stack of 3 x 5 second exposures in Deep Sky Stacker (one frame was dropped) . Click to embiggen (especially if you want to see Saturn clearly). | The International Space Station flies over Saturn as seen from Adelaide on 22 September. Imaged with my Canon IXUS, 400 ASA at around 19:34 ACST. Stack of 4 x 5 second exposures in ImageJ. Click to embiggen (especially if you want to see Saturn clearly). |
Despite the afternoon cloud the evening turned out to be gloriously clear. Because the ISS was going to come within a telescope field of the ISS I debated setting up the telescope to record the fly-by. But with only one camera suitable for recording o either tripod of telescope I opted for tripod only.
As you see the ISS pretty much grazed Saturn, which would have looked great in a scope. But I had set up the camera on the tripod and was ready to go. Unfortunately, the heavens above prediction was out by a bout a minute, so I started my timing run a little too late, but I got the ISS just as iyt went over Saturn. Looked even more impressive in the sky.
 |  |
| Close up of Saturn and the ISS in a single frame. | Animation of the ISS going over Saturn. 4 x 5 second images animated in ImageJ |
Labels: astrophotography, ISS, Saturn, unaided eye
# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:27 pm 
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
