Observation by Chris Hooker: ISS on 20th May 2020
Uploaded by
Chris Hooker
Observer
Chris Hooker
Observed
2020 May 19 - 23:31
Uploaded
2020 May 20 - 07:36
Objects
Spacecraft
Equipment
- 254 mm Newtonian
- 5x Powermate
- ZWO ASI174MM camera
- Baader IR cut filter
Exposure
0.5 msec
Location
Didcot, Oxfordshire
Target name
International Space Station
Title
ISS on 20th May 2020
About this image
Conditions were good for the second pass of the evening. The large sensor of the ASI174 camera allows the use of a 5x Powermate without the field of view becoming too small to track the station successfully. The image is a stack of 70 frames selected from a 3 second sequence near the middle of the pass. The heat-rejection panels are overexposed, as usual, but the other parts of the ISS show plenty of detail. The Space Exposure Facility, at the 'upper' end of the hammerhead, shows the different modules that are deployed to allow samples to be subjected to the vacuum environment.
Files associated with this observation
Like this image
Jeremy Shears,
Dr Paul Leyland,
Ray Emery,
Philip Masding,
Martin Lewis,
Alan Thomas,
Steve Knight,
Callum Potter,
Chris Dole,
Andy Wilson,
Mark Harman,
Graham Winstanley
Comments
Tremendous detail on the main body of the ISS, Chris. Very well done- top drawer stuff.
What gain did you use and any ADC in use?
Best wishes
Martin
Hi Martin,
Thanks for your appreciative comment. Using an ADC isn't possible with the ISS, because its altitude constantly changes and the setting would vary. The gain in this run was 350, which does generate some noise, but I was able to stack a reasonable number of frames to reduce it. I'm still trying to improve the smoothness of my tracking, but it's getting there.
Chris
That is astonishingly good Chris. Like many of us I suffer as well from overexposed heat rejection panels. I tried the audio histogram feature of Firecapture last night (thanks Martin for letting me know it existed) and found it very useful (apologies to neighbours for irritating beeps in garden). With your more advanced tracking you probably don't need it. The real challenge for me is tracking ISS at zenith with a 25kg telescope on an altaz mount.
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