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!
Last edited by Chrissyo; 31-10-2007 at 01:06 AM.
Reason: Fixed computer issues, updated images
Hi! I have a Panasonic miniDV camera as well, and am wondering what adapter you are using to mount yours on the eyepiece. I can't seem to find any for the modern Panasonic cameras, but would love to give it a try for planetary imaging.
It sounds like you are missing your firewire drivers. These will either be available from the motherboard manufacturer, or from the manufacturer of the add in firewire card, depending on how it is connected.
Well done! Is that the shuttle on the mid-left pointing backwards away from the imager???
Thanks. That could be the Shuttle, itseems to be the only area where it might fit in.
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Hi! I have a Panasonic miniDV camera as well, and am wondering what adapter you are using to mount yours on the eyepiece. I can't seem to find any for the modern Panasonic cameras, but would love to give it a try for planetary imaging.
I am using generic adapters for it... a 42mm thread for the camera (I'm only going on memory though, so it might not be that exact size. You'd have to check the thread size on your camera anyway) which connects to something called an F-adapter from EBay, which basically clamps to the outer edge of the eyepiece. I only got this a few months or so ago though, I used to capture my AVIs using a thrown together wooden adapter. If you want, I can take some pictures of how it all connects together?
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It sounds like you are missing your firewire drivers. These will either be available from the motherboard manufacturer, or from the manufacturer of the add in firewire card, depending on how it is connected.
That's the problem though, I don't know anything about the card. And I doubt anyone else does, because we didn't install it (a relative gave it to us and installed it for us, because we're all pretty computer illiterate here). So I'm just wondering if there are any generic drivers available around the place that I could try. Other than that, I might just wait until I see that relative again.
Hmm, I tried to track down some firewire drivers for the manufacturer I use with no luck. They had eol'd their old lines, and no longer had the drivers available. That same manufacturer wouldn't give me a pinout for a power supply I had lost for an external drive enclosure. They don't have very good customer service policies.
Someone could probably recommend a tool you could download to interrogate your PCI bus and report what hardware is in each slot. From that you could find out what the firewire card really is, and hopefully track down the drivers. Maybe someone you know has a Linux install CD that would scan the bus for you and report what hardware it finds.
If you could take a picture of your particular adapter, that would be great.
Chris, you still getting the same old great results from that miniDV. It was your Saturn image that inspired me to start imaging with my Dob.
Eric, when i borrowed my mates miniDV i worked out you dont need a driver for this. Unless your using it as a webcam but thats only if your camera supports that feature. Essentially you record to the tape and then you can use a freeware program called WinDv http://windv.mourek.cz/ to get the video onto your PC. Not this utility basically gives you control over the camera like a vcr deck. You can fast forward, rewind play etc. Very cool. Note further that capturing the video this way you will get a very large video file on your hdd which is in DV or DV-avi format. Usually then you can use a video editing package to turn this into a DVD. But for our purposes you just put it through registax.
I am not sure if windv will pass through live video to your computer though. Also some minidv camera's can pass through video from an anolouge source. For example a vcr connected to the camera's input AV cables (if it has them). This gives you a cheap Analogue to Digital converter to move your old analogue work to the PC. You could also use this feature with the security cams made for astronomy.
Excellent work Chris, just great. I reckon the dob base is perfect for hand-tracking of the ISS.. the EQ mount would want to move in all sorts of weird positions.
Other than that, does anyone have any general hints/tips for this sort of imaging? I'm certainly interested in improving.
Can't offer any tips, you've already way surpassed my effort.
Top stuff, well done.
Just curious, when you were tracking by hand did you constantly keep moving the Dob while tracking or did you position just ahead of the ISS and let it drift through the FOV, reposition, drift, reposition, drift etc.
When I tried it I did the position and drift technique because I thought constantly moving the Dob I would end up with a smeared streak bouncing around the screen.
If the shutter speed is fast enough, it still might be able to freeze the view? I would've thought you'd get a lot more frames if you tried to keep it in the field, rather than let it drift and re-align.
But you might be right, it could smear it terribly.
If you could take a picture of your particular adapter, that would be great.
I've attached some images of my adapter below.
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Excellent work Chris, just great. I reckon the dob base is perfect for hand-tracking of the ISS.. the EQ mount would want to move in all sorts of weird positions.
Yup, that's my thought as well. The dob seems to work quite nicely.
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Just curious, when you were tracking by hand did you constantly keep moving the Dob while tracking or did you position just ahead of the ISS and let it drift through the FOV, reposition, drift, reposition, drift etc.
I was constantly shifting the dob, trying to keep the ISS in the crosshairs of the finderscope at all times.
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If the shutter speed is fast enough, it still might be able to freeze the view? I would've thought you'd get a lot more frames if you tried to keep it in the field, rather than let it drift and re-align.
Some of the frames smear a bit, but there are plenty that come out pretty sharp. Frame wise, out of about 3 minutes of the pass (the time I track it for) the ISS only passes through the cameras FOV 5 or so times (though that number has been increasing more lately as I've been practising tracking satellites). So there really aren't a huge number of frames to work with. All up I captured 50 frames of the ISS in this pass.
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Did the image bounce around a lot or was it quite steady?
It was bouncing all over the place really. My method of tracking isn't accurate at all.
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It's times like this you need a 12" LX200R.
I wish! Maybe I should go and enter a game-show or something to come up with the money.
Also, I mentioned in another thread that I managed to catch the 3:30am (or around about then, I can't remember the exact time off the top of my head) ISS transit. However, it was only about 30 degrees altitude at maximum, so the atmosphere stuffed it around a bit and the extra distance sucked (plus, I didn't get to track it for as long as I wanted because of all the trees in that direction at my place). Anyway, I nabbed two unprocessed frames and attached them below. Assuming the weather is fine, I'm going to give the ISS another go tomorrow evening.
). So I'm just wondering if there are any generic drivers available around the place that I could try. Other than that, I might just wait until I see that relative again.
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