ISS through telescope - WOW!

[george7378]

It's nice to see it at random - I was observing M13 (a wonder in itself), and it streaked past! It was so clear - I could see the colours and positions of the solar panels, and the trusses and modules! This was at 90X magnification.

 

[statickid]

wow only 90!? i wish it would come by here on a clear night. washington seems so out of it's way. however one night at the end of dusk i had the amazing experience of seeing it go by, then to my surprise i also saw another bright thing going by exactly the same. i knew it had to be the shuttle catching up with it!!!!!!!!! then i looked up schedules online and sure enough thats what it was i'm 100% certain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[george7378]

wow only 90!? i wish it would come by here on a clear night. washington seems so out of it's way. however one night at the end of dusk i had the amazing experience of seeing it go by, then to my surprise i also saw another bright thing going by exactly the same. i knew it had to be the shuttle catching up with it!!!!!!!!! then i looked up schedules online and sure enough thats what it was i'm 100% certain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I remember seeing it for the first time when my dad showed me it (or maybe that was Mir?) and that was fantastic - I've never seen the Shuttle though. With 90X, the features were barely distinguishable when it was on the horizon - they looked best close to the highest point. It was fantastic to be looking at a globular cluster when the ISS passes close by!

 

[Kyle]

Try this out! wow!

And look at this too!

Both are via telescope, an amazing site.

 

[Hmuda]

Reminded me of this:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100523.html

 

[george7378]

I'm hoping to see two ISS passes tonight - I'll try and film one to get some pictures.

22:59:

00:34:

 

[astrosammy]

First one is also good for me... But to late to get out my scope.

 

[george7378]

Good luck sighting! I'm slightly annoyed that my latitude (53N) is just too high to ever get a direct overhead pass out of the 51.6 degree inclination of the ISS. No problems yet though...

---------- Post added at 23:33 ---------- Previous post was at 22:19 ----------

This is poor in comparison to some of the other shots I've seen, but this is a 90X magnification medley I got (some of them show a bit of shape and structure - do you agree?). I'm not sure of the ISS orientation during the pass:

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

This is poor in comparison to some of the other shots I've seen, but this is a 90X magnification medley I got (some of them show a bit of shape and structure - do you agree?). I'm not sure of the ISS orientation during the pass:

The ISS would have been in standard LVLH (Local Vertical/Local Horizontal) attitude, i.e., PMA-2 would have been facing forward and the ISS's underside would have been facing Earth.

 

[george7378]

Thanks - it's interesting to know the exact details of it's position when it passes over! I think the photo reel got the shape of the ISS then. At least it was more than a dot! I'll double the magnification at half past and see what I get.

---------- Post added 27-06-10 at 01:08 ---------- Previous post was 26-06-10 at 23:56 ----------

Well, I managed to get two frames of video with the ISS in during the second pass, but I'm proud of what I managed (you can see the solar panels and the modules):

 

[guitarist473]

this sounds really fun i want to try it for myself
could some one please tell me or give me a link to where i can find out:
1) when i will be able to see the iss
2) what equipment will i need
3) how to spot it (in the words of the guy from armageddon... "its a big ass sky!"

thank you

 

[george7378]

1. http://www.heavens-above.com/
2. A telescope with a mount. You don't need lots - just something to magnify it with. I'd recommend at least 50X to see any detail. For photos, you will need a compact digital camera (for the low-tech method) or a CCD astro-camera/webcam for slightly more high-tech viewing.
3. The sky maps on Heavens-above are very useful a determining the start point - you will not miss it if you look east at the time of the pass.

---------- Post added 28-06-10 at 00:30 ---------- Previous post was 27-06-10 at 10:04 ----------

I got tonight's first pass at 23:25 too - I'm getting more used to tracking now, as I got a nice smooth view as it passed over. Now for the second at 01:00!

 

[diogom]

ISS through telescope

I've been trying to watch the ISS through my telescope, but the oportunities aren't much here in Portugal, at least this month. It is only visible like at 3 or 4 in the morning. but today and tomorrow there is one and since I don't want to waste the oportunity with the wrong eyepiece, can anyone tell me what magnification do I need to watch some details?

 

[orb]

O-F Staff Note: Threads merged.

 

[george7378]

I've been trying to watch the ISS through my telescope, but the oportunities aren't much here in Portugal, at least this month. It is only visible like at 3 or 4 in the morning. but today and tomorrow there is one and since I don't want to waste the oportunity with the wrong eyepiece, can anyone tell me what magnification do I need to watch some details?

What are the specs of your telescope and eyepieces? You can find the magnification by dividing focal length by eyepiece length. I have a 900mm telescope and eyepieces of 10mm and 25mm plus a 2X Barlow. I use the 10mm to give me 90X magnification, and this is suitable for seeing fine details like the textures and orange/brown colours of the solar panels, plus the individual modules (if the scope is pushed to follow the station accurately). So, I would recommend whichever eyepiece gives around 90X, with a minumum magnification of around 40/50X to be used. I tried a couple of times with 180X, and it was far too hard to track and focus, and the station rarely crossed the narrow field of view, so I always use 90X.

 

[diogom]

What are the specs of your telescope and eyepieces? You can find the magnification by dividing focal length by eyepiece length. I have a 900mm telescope and eyepieces of 10mm and 25mm plus a 2X Barlow. I use the 10mm to give me 90X magnification, and this is suitable for seeing fine details like the textures and orange/brown colours of the solar panels, plus the individual modules (if the scope is pushed to follow the station accurately). So, I would recommend whichever eyepiece gives around 90X, with a minumum magnification of around 40/50X to be used. I tried a couple of times with 180X, and it was far too hard to track and focus, and the station rarely crossed the narrow field of view, so I always use 90X.

I have three eyepieces, 20mm, 12mm and 4mm plus 1.5x barlow

20mm-35x
12mm-58x
4mm-175x

---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:25 PM ----------

Just saw the ISS. I watched it through my telescope, but I only saw a white thing, no details, although I think I saw something orange.

 

[george7378]

I'd expect the 12mm with the 1.5 Barlow to give some reasonable views... If you get another chance, try both the 12mm and the 4mm (during one pass, if possible) and see what you get.

 

[diogom]

The image wasn't very clear, it was a bit blurred, and I needed to adjust focus, so the reason for no details may have been that, but with that speed and no experience, it's a little hard.

 

[george7378]

The image wasn't very clear, it was a bit blurred, and I needed to adjust focus, so the reason for no details may have been that, but with that speed and no experience, it's a little hard.

My first go was quite fruitless too, but I learned through practice. Focus using a star before the pass, and keep one hand close to the focus wheel during the pass (if you feel brave enough, completely de-focus it and try to get it as sharp as you can while you're tracking it). Tracking is easy close to the horizon where it moves slower, so try and get a fix on it then and follow it by pushing your mount with one hand (it helps to tighten the locking screws to get a little resistance so that you aren't wobbling all over). I have an equatorial mount which is nicely aligned with the equator to make tracking along the axes intuitive and easy, but I don't know how an alt-azimuth would feel.

 

[diogom]

Well, before the pass I focused it using Venus, but during the pass, but while following it I completely forgot the focus. Only after I remembered it.