EDIT: Major Update.
I managed to sort out the computer problems. I remembered I had an old plug-and-play firewire card lying around so I managed to get it into the computer and a bunch of install prompts popped up on their own and everything just worked. I'm glad that's sorted.
So I've gone through the AVIs, and split it all into individual frames. I ran them through Registax to get the images below. I was also able to make two animated GIFs from parts of the original AVI. I'm quite happy with how they turned out.
Next time I go after the ISS, I'd like to try with some more magnification.
Enjoy!
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Hey everyone.
I just got inside from imaging an ISS pass from the Sunshine Coast through my telescope. It had a maximum altitude of 51 degrees in the South West. This is my second attempt at the ISS through my telescope.
To capture the images I used my Panasonic video camera attached to a 2" 26mm eyepiece with 7X optical zoom on the camera (which makes total magnification about 340X).
I tracked it using my 10" F5 Newtonian telescope on its Dobsonian base. I tracked the ISS through the finder-scope and shifted the scope by hand.
Unfortunately, the computer I use to upload my video files is on the blink (more on this in a minute) at the moment, so to get these images to show you I had to connect the camera to the TV, then take an image of the television screen. When I work the computer out the images will be MUCH better (I promise!).
According to heavens above, the Space Shuttle is still docked, so it should be in this image somewhere. Because the quality is so dodgy, I can't make it out. Perhaps its behind the ISS from the imaged perspective?
Now, about the computer, maybe someone can help me work out what the problem is? It seems to just be the firewire port. When I attach the camera, nothing happens. So I went to 'Control Panel', 'System', the 'Hardware' tab then 'Device Manager'. In the list under PCI devices, there is a list of about 7 things saying 'PCI device' with a yellow question mark. I don't know anything about the computer (I only use it for uploading my videos), except that we don't have any CD's containing drivers for the firewire ports. I tried the 'update drivers' thingo that does an online search, but it didn't work. So does anyone know of any generic firewire drivers that I can try to download and install? Or any other ways to fix it? I've actually got a fair bit of data to upload, including some lunar work, Jupiter, and assorted satellites (including several runs of the Hubble) which I've been doing to practise for the ISS (though none of them show detail - just blobs of light).
Other than that, does anyone have any general hints/tips for this sort of imaging? I'm certainly interested in improving.
Thanks!
