ISS @ 1800mm

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Awesome capture!!

[astronobob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by batema

Truely amazing. Wonderful image but can you tell me how you go about focusing as I would like to have a crack at doing one of these. You certainly have shown us what is possible. Brilliant.

Mark

Cheers Mark, and yes, I can tell you about focusing, no worries, & beleive it or not, I just focused on a bright star before hand and locked it Though I feel thats not all that needs to be applied for a sharpísh capture , , Its very much like capturing a bird in flight, or a racing car Etc, whereas you need to be able to follow the ISS smoothly enough for a crisp result, I think this is as much critical as focus, if not more please read my other replys below for further details
cheers .

Originally Posted by naskies

Another fantastic effort, Bob! Any tips for tracking the ISS? Did you loosen the clutches and track it by hand, or did you "chase" it with the keypad?

Hi Dave, and thanx mate , , ! well, I just chased it by hand hey, better control I think, interesting about the clutches, yes, I did release them as did last months effort, but actually found it a bit too free, so to speak, I did actually practice a few times on the mount and found if the clutches had a small amount of tension on them, then this resulted with better hand controll, I mean, one can apply a firmer steadier hand to swinging the scope around and once have the ISS in the cross hairs, then would find it wouldnt just slip out of sight as easily, therfor the following motion was steadier when in the sights, anyway, thats what I found hope this is helpful, cheers !

Originally Posted by killswitch

Wow great snap. Was it hard to track and frame the ISS at 1800mm?

Ive got the same set up as you and been waiting for a Moon ISS transit.

Hi Ed & Thanx for your comment. I must say, it not all easy, as mentioned above, I actually practice the physical motion a half doz times before hand, Lol, bit like dancing with the wifey Like in the ol' days, when you had to support the girl funny thing tho, Im no John Travolta
All the best . .

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Gobsmacked
that is all

[ChrisM]

That's the best shot I've seen of the IIS taken from down here. Simply stunning, Bob.
Chris

[Solar (Ralph Smith)]

Smashing result Bob.
I thought I had replied to this BUT you know what though did.
Will the Meade LX200 slew at the ISS speed. I was told it was built in to the controller. I am to ham-fisted to do it your way.

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Fantastic image Bob!

[astronobob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

Gobsmacked
that is all

Thanx Nik

Originally Posted by ChrisM

That's the best shot I've seen of the IIS taken from down here. Simply stunning, Bob.
Chris

Thanxs much Chris Kind'of lucky the sharpest capture was when the solar panals were orientated as they were, add greatly to the dimensions of the ISS which therefore covers more of the chip, so, yeah, lucky that way as well

Originally Posted by Solar

Smashing result Bob.
I thought I had replied to this BUT you know what though did.
Will the Meade LX200 slew at the ISS speed. I was told it was built in to the controller. I am to ham-fisted to do it your way.

Appreciate your comment all the same Ralph Re: Meade slew ? Sorry mate, cant help you there, I have never owned or used a Meade instrument, wouldnt have a clue really, only that, I have heard one can programm an ISS rate also ! but personally, I'm a more hands on chap ! Also guessing, one would need some mighty accurate pointing measures which I assume would have to also accurately co-inside with your exact location at the time ? ? Near or above 2m F/Length doesnt give a big window , ,
Cheers

Originally Posted by 04Stefan07

Fantastic image Bob!

Cheers Stefan

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Incredible Sensational Snap that Bob, amazing

Mike

[naskies (Dave)]

Originally Posted by astronobob

Hi Dave, and thanx mate , , ! well, I just chased it by hand hey, better control I think, interesting about the clutches, yes, I did release them as did last months effort, but actually found it a bit too free, so to speak, I did actually practice a few times on the mount and found if the clutches had a small amount of tension on them, then this resulted with better hand controll, I mean, one can apply a firmer steadier hand to swinging the scope around and once have the ISS in the cross hairs, then would find it wouldnt just slip out of sight as easily, therfor the following motion was steadier when in the sights, anyway, thats what I found hope this is helpful, cheers !

Aah, great work... and thanks for the explanation! Inspired by your efforts, I threw the DSLR onto my Dob and had a go during last Monday's ISS pass. The results were nowhere near as good as yours

I did happen to snag an awesome view of a different satellite through an eyepiece at 50x magnification afterwards - solar panels and body clearly visible. Brilliant sight.

[blink138 (Pat)]

OMG worth it!? how sharp is that!
i nearly had to have a "private moment" ha ha!
absolutely fab
pat

[blink138 (Pat)]

you can see its "encke division"
pat

[jsmoraes (Jorge)]

incredible
Focus is awesome !

[Osirisra (Ken)]

Holly Sh*t!, that is one of the most clear and crispy shots of the ISS I've seen! Nice work!!!

[astronobob (Bob)]

Thank you for all your reply's, sorry if I have missed replying to anyone directly, I do appreciate the encouragement from each & every one
,
,
,

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Incredible Sensational Snap that Bob, amazing

Mike

Trying Helps Anyone Negotiate Killer Satelites Mike, Cheers
,

Originally Posted by naskies

Aah, great work... and thanks for the explanation! Inspired by your efforts, I threw the DSLR onto my Dob and had a go during last Monday's ISS pass. The results were nowhere near as good as yours

I did happen to snag an awesome view of a different satellite through an eyepiece at 50x magnification afterwards - solar panels and body clearly visible. Brilliant sight.

Thanx again Dave, I never thought of trying for a visual, sounds very rewarding indeed, on the to-do list mate
,

Originally Posted by blink138

OMG worth it!? how sharp is that!
i nearly had to have a "private moment" ha ha!
absolutely fab
you can see its "encke division"
pat

Thanx & Lol, Pat, thinking of applying for a job - keeping an eye out for loose segments, solar panels etc with the prospect of an ISS safety officer
,

Originally Posted by jsmoraes

incredible
Focus is awesome !

Thanx much Jorge, I did capture it about 12 times in 20-30 frames but this one was way best & think its due to keeping the scope (panning) so to speak, at the same speed as the target, like photo shooting a bird in flight, still a bit of a fluke in my books
,

Originally Posted by Osirisra

Holly Sh*t!, that is one of the most clear and crispy shots of the ISS I've seen! Nice work!!!

Thanx very much Ken, appreciate your kind words

[sheeny (Al)]

That's cool, Bob!

Al.

[astronobob (Bob)]

Originally Posted by sheeny

That's cool, Bob!

Al.

Thanx Al

[PeterM]

Gulp! Sensational image Bob.
Congratulations.

[Spookyer (Brett)]

Good one, sharp enough to see the strings that are holding it up there.