ISS Solar Transit

crimbfighter

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Ok, so it's not like the images you'll see searching Google, but this was a project I've wanted to try for a while. It was a little anti-climactic when I saw how I had no definition in the ISS because I just don't have a long enough focal length. I really need a telescope to make it work right. You can kinda sorta see a rough outline of the solar arrays in one of the images, but it's only a few pixels wide and you have to know what it is you're looking at. Anyway, I captured it at 10fps by spraying and praying starting 5 seconds before the scheduled time and running the shutter until it reached the 200 frame limit. The actual transit time across the sun was only 1.32 seconds, so it happens fast. It worked, and based on where the images fell that captured it, it was right on time. I used the website transit finder, International Space Station Transit Finder, to plan when and where to go, and I used an atomic clock app that adjusts for error in my phones clock to make sure I was on time.

D500, 200-500 f/5.6 @ f/8, 500mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 2000, Thousand Oaks Optical solar filter, images layer and blended in PS
 
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You got a pretty darn good result with the gear you had. :encouragement:

Ya. It takes a fair amount of magnification to image ISS so it's readily apparent it IS the ISS.
After all ISS is 250 miles above mean sea level (AMSL) in a nearly circular orbit - Perigee: 249.2 miles, Apogee: 253.5 miles.
 
I got that from the original post. It was combined to make the image (shot). I'm sorry I should have said picture.
 
Neat shots, thanks for sharing.

WesternGuy
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks!

Thank you!

You got a pretty darn good result with the gear you had. :encouragement:

Ya. It takes a fair amount of magnification to image ISS so it's readily apparent it IS the ISS.
After all ISS is 250 miles above mean sea level (AMSL) in a nearly circular orbit - Perigee: 249.2 miles, Apogee: 253.5 miles.
Thanks! I wish I could buy a telescope and an equatorial mount, but it's a dangerous rabbit hole trying to chase that next great image... It's one of those time I have to resign myself to doing the best I can with what I already have.

I got that from the original post. It was combined to make the image (shot). I'm sorry I should have said picture.
No worries, I was picking up what you were putting down!
 

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