Saturn and satellite

[andy]

While observing Jupiter at 6.30 - 6.35 this evening I saw a satellite passing near jupiter in my field of view and managed to nudge my dob and follow it for a few seconds.
OK so it's probably no big deal but as a learner I got a kick out of it.

10 inch gs dob
2 x barlow
uw80 30mm eyepiece

[andy]

.........for Jupiter Read SATURN !!!!!!!!!!


Did I mention I was a learner ????????

[iceman]

Hi Andy.

It's a real kick when that happens.. The more you observe, the more it will happen to you. There always seems to be an influx of satellites near Orion, so when M42 is back up you'll get plenty passing by your FOV.

What's even more exciting is getting a meteor flashing through the FOV! That doesn't happen often!

[sheeny]

Keep an eye out for those satellites! Especially the ISS and HST. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be interested to hear if you can see detail on the ISS especially.

If you are interested in Satellites try satscape:

http://www.satscape.co.uk/

Great little program for keeping tabs on satellites!

Al.

[Octane]

Andy,

Congratulations on your first satellite.

I believe the one you saw was a COSMOS communications satellite. COSMOS 1975 R/B, to be precise. It would have passed Saturn at 6:32:58 PM.

Regards,
Humayun

[RB]

It's a great feeling isn't it Andy?
Well done.
Saturn must have looked a treat too.

:thumbsup:

[toetoe]

I have had that joy only once Andy but it was with Jupiter last year sometime. It was a great buzz to have that experiance.

[ballaratdragons]

Al,

About the best pic ever taken from earth by an amateur of IIS is in the Meade catalogue. (may be on the net, never looked).

It doesn't show any great detail but you can see the whole station with the shuttle docked.

Mind blowing stuff!

[rmcpb]

Another great site for satellite info is the Heavens Above (http://www.heavens-above.com/) web site.

Cheers

[Gargoyle_Steve]

I enjoy the thrill of something simple yet unexpected like a passing satellite too, and I'm also a newbie. I too have found the Orion region productive recently for passing satellites due to it's low altitude around the end of twilight. There's plenty of reflected light from below the horizon to illuminate any satellite in the area quite well.

My biggest thrill of this nature came only 2-3 weeks ago, was checking out the M42 area yet again when a satellite passed through my field of view (one of 3 this evening I think) so I started tracking along with it. Luckily I had my brand new 30mm Ultra-Wide eyepiece in the focusser.

As I followed it I realised I had a second satellite in my field of view too, same direction of travel, similar path, but somewhat ahead and moving slower. Not only was my satellite overtaking it but they were slowly converging! I tracked them both, mentally calculating how far they would go before they crossed paths, and how close they would be when this happened. When the slower sat finally crossed in front of my original target it was only about 20% of the field of view ahead. As they diverged again my faster original target overtook the newcomer and eventually left it behind.

I'm sure this kind of thing happens all the time if you happen to be looking, but to me it sure felt like a million to one event!
:party: