ISS Transit of the Moon – Brisbane 21st Nov 2015 7:35:59pm
Decided to set up despite the draining effects of a 35º C day.
C9.26, x0.63 R/F, Canon 7D Mk II. Tak Mewlon 180 F12, Tal x1.6 Extender, ASI 174MM ccd camera. Both mounted side-by-side on a Tak EM200 Mount.
The hi-res shot is a composite of the Raw ISS Frames and an aligned/stacked Moon background as processed in Autostakkert!2, using Layer Masks in CS6. This is why the single frame ISS images look rough, whereas the Moon BG looks smoother.
The transit lasted some 0.49 seconds so it was a bit tricky choosing the optimum moment to trip the 7D Mk II which can shoot at 10 fps, whilst remembering to start recording with the ASI 174MM all whilst eye balling the ISS through the C9.25 finder scope. Not to mention fighting off the mossies.
Channelling Mr H0ughy with his famous, complex, multi-instrument set ups, here is a wide field result with a 5D Mk III and 400mm F5.6L mounted on a tripod with shots taken every 1 second.
My biggest fear was bumping the array of instruments as I moved between them to start the 3 sets of captures at T-10sec, T-5sec and T-0.5 sec.
I'm in awe as always of your skill and dedication. Would you consent to have some of your shots included in the BAS Observer? Darryl would be stoked to receive some images from you... looks like a cover shot to me.
Brilliant work as usual Dennis.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Hi Ron
Thanks and great to hear from you.
I must say I was a little rusty after a bit of a break from setting up and using the gear, but a new ASI 174MM CCD camera inspired me to get outdoors again.
Amazing stuff Dennis. I had a try at capturing it pass by the moon but missed it completely
HI Peter
Sorry to hear of your miss.
I used Friday night as a dress rehearsal in setting up the gear and jotting down a procedure which helped me cope with the rush of activities as the ISS approached the Moon on Sat.
Without the dry run on Friday to establish the equipment configurations and capture settings, plus the note taking, it is likely that I would have missed the event as it happened sooo quickly.
Great shot Dennis, I got clouded out. Cheers Alpha Pavo
Hey John
Great to hear from you and thanks. Some 30 mins before the transit, a few clouds began to appear although luckily, they held off until after the event.
I'm in awe as always of your skill and dedication. Would you consent to have some of your shots included in the BAS Observer? Darryl would be stoked to receive some images from you... looks like a cover shot to me.
Cheers
Tony
Thanks Tony, good to hear from you.
When I first looked at the ground track on Thursday, it missed my back yard by a whisker but by Friday, it had shifted about ¼ degree south. And no, I didn’t put in a request for a trajectory changing burn…
No problems with the BAS Newsletter, I would be honoured to grace the pages of such an esteemed journal.
