Image Links | |
Published image | Full resolution |
Transit Video | Via Youtube |
Target Information | |
Main Target Designation(s) | ISS Transit of the Moon, 97.2% Illuminated Moon |
Exposures | |
Date(s) of acquisition | 01Feb2018 (Transit at 22:13:34 CST) |
Location | Sunset Hills, MO |
ISS Information | |
Angular Size | 44.50″ |
Distance | 620.99 km |
Angular Velocity | 29.5 ′/s |
Transverse Velocity | 5.32 km/s |
Radial Velocity | 5.12 km/s |
Total Velocity | 7.38 km/s |
Transit Acquisition | |
One-shot Color Video | 1080p Video at 29.97fps |
ISS extraction | 23 frames |
Manual mode config | 1/4000s exposure at ISO200 |
Capture resolution | 1920x1080 |
Lunar Disc Acquisition | |
One-shot Color Exposures | 30 of 614 frames stacked |
Manual mode config | 1/8000s exposure at ISO500 |
Capture resolution | 4608x3456 |
Equipment | |
Imager | Olympus E-P5 (prime focus) |
Telescope/Lens | Orion 8" f/3.9 Astrograph |
Focal Length | 800mm (f/3.9) |
Mount | Celestron CGEM |
Focuser | Moonlite 2" Reflector Format |
Accessories | |
Focusing | Moonlite V2 Controller |
Software | |
Acquisition | FireCapture 2.5 |
Guiding | None |
Processing | PIPP v2.5.9, AutoStakkert 3, Registax 6, PixInsight 1.8, Photoshop CC |
In a fleeting moment, one could miss this curious celestial event, and that if you even knew it was coming! Thanks to the handy Transit Finder, I was made aware of a lunar transit of the ISS very near my home location. Though the ISS passed overhead in the shadow of earth, it made a quick cloaked appearance across a nearly-full lunar disc. You can't blink -- and the camera can't quit -- for an event like this. From where I sat (only about a mile from the center line in Sunset Hills, MO), the off-center transit at this location lasted a whopping three-quarters of a second -- only good for 23 frames in a standard 30Hz video as seen in the raw capture I posted of this event (via YouTube)! In the composite above, we see the solar panels flanking the center service system of these 23 frames overlayed on the evening's moon captured just prior to the transit. It's a fascinating look for many seeing it for the first time, as it may not be immediately considered that the ISS doesn't travel in an orientation square to its path of travel.
This was first time imaging the ISS from a telescope. Some lessons learned are that the video capture on the E-P5, though necessary to provide the best opportunity at capturing the transit, results in some quite compressed frames extracted to composite. A more appropriate large-format planetary camera would no doubt provide better resolution for this type of event, but I'm pleased of the outline detail of the ISS shape, albeit a bit fuzzy. (Hey, that's why we call this Fuzzy Photos anyway!)
I look forward to trying the ISS again and honing in my acquisition technique. For now, though, we can sit in awe of the ISS' sneaky appearance overhead.