Tuesday, 17 March 2009

Magnificent view of Shuttle and ISS just before docking!

I had a pass of the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-119 and the ISS this evening about one hour before they docked. This meant they were moving as a very close pair. The pass was around 19:10 UTC at 25 degrees altitude.

It was a beautiful sight, as the pair rose in the southwest and then majestically sailed past Sirius. Here's a picture:


(click image to enlarge)


The Shuttle is the object slightly fainter and lower in the sky. Movement is from right to left. Here's a second picture:

(click image to enlarge)
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9 comments:

  1. Anonymous18/3/09 14:54

    this is so cool. I love your pictures. Awesome Blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous18/3/09 21:44

    Hoi Marco,

    Mooie foto's! Mag ik ze ook plaatsen op m'n website (astroblogs, je kent die wel)? Uiteraard met bronvermelding.

    Grz,

    Adrianus

    ReplyDelete
  3. SatTrackCam Leiden18/3/09 21:47

    Dag Adrianus,

    Dat is okay!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous18/3/09 22:50

    Het astroblogje staat er hoor:
    http://www.astroblogs.nl/2009/03/18/het-duo-iss-discovery-net-voor-de-koppeling/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Erwin30/3/09 08:58

    Observed the same beautifull sight see here.
    How many seconds exposure time did you use? I think the reason for the faintness of the shuttle on my picture is because of the long exposere/ISO speed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Erwin30/3/09 10:30

    pasted the wrong link :(
    Here's the correct one:

    http://blog.erwinwendy.nl/2009/03/17/space-station-iss-and-sts-119-2-hours-before-docking/

    ReplyDelete
  7. SatTrackCam Leiden30/3/09 10:38

    Hi Erwin,

    The difference is due to your lower ISO setting, higher diafragma, and smaller lens aperture. The exposure time itself (10.05 seconds in my case) isn't that much of a factor.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Erwin30/3/09 10:59

    What where the settings fot your picture?
    If I had the same exposure time (1 minute 33 seconds) and a higher ISO (say ISO 800 as I can see you used in some of your pictures), I probably get totaly washed out shots.

    ReplyDelete
  9. SatTrackCam Leiden30/3/09 11:12

    EF 50/2.5 macro lens @ F2.8, 800 ISO, 10s exposure

    ReplyDelete

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