Ralf Vandebergh
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/25/06
Posts: 822
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Hi all,
See this as my own personal imaging-contribution to more then 50 years spaceflight and NASA's 50th anniversary;
Last spring I started to search for the oldest spacecraft still in the Earths orbit which I would be able
to capture.My interest already quickly pointed to the series of Tiros satellites(Television Infrared
Observation System)from the early 1960's.
These satellites are really legendary as they are the first succesfull weather-imaging satellites in history.
The oldest satellite I imaged so far was a rocket body from the late 1970's.
I spent a lot of observing-time during the summer trying to observe a Tiros satellite but constantly I failed
due to different factors;faint appearance,no transparant skies at the right moment,no favourable passes,
simply not visible and so on.Though,I never gave up trying,until I finally succeeded on September 29 observing
a rare good pass of the Tiros 2 (at magnitude 3.2.I was amazed by seeing a satellite launched in the same
year as the legendary Echo 1 satellite(1960),with the difference that the Echo already burned up in 1968 and the
Tiros is still in the Earth's orbit,although it failed to function on January 22, 1961. If we could travel to the Tiros 2,
we would find there 2 old videocamera's(one low resolution/one high resolution)a magnetic tape recorder and
different infrared instruments.
Ok,I wasn't be able to find a satellite from 1957 to show the full 51 years spaceflight but this small 42inch by 19inch
satellite comming from a time before manned-spaceflight was existing,compared to the largest space-structure
from today,is still an exciting show I think....
All images taken by manually tracking using a 10inch Newtonian reflector)
Ralf Vandebergh
Edited by Ralf Vandebergh (10/10/08 02:57 PM)
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Mare Nectaris
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/09/08
Posts: 1069
Loc: Toijala, Finland
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Ralf,
that is absolutely fantastic tribute!
Respect for your devotion and achievement 
If it's there - you're the man to call to catch it!
Be well!
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Share - and you shall have it all
Timo Keski-Petäjä
CtheMoon
Observation shelter KuuMaja (MoonHut)
TAL 250K*Celestron C8-N*SkyWatcher Skymax 150 Pro*TAL1(Mizar)*EQ6 Pro SynScan*Celestron Advanced GT (CG-5 GOTO)*Baader Hyperion Clickstop Zoom 8-24*17 mm UWA-70*TeleVue BIG 2x Barlow*Celestron 2x Barlow Ultima SV Series
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15782
Loc: Hoover, AL
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I was able to observe the Delta Rocket that is listed on Heavens Above. It is from the 1960's, but I don't recall the actual year it was launched.
This satellite though I am sure is older. DOes it frequently have bright passes?
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
It’s not finishing something when your tank is empty that makes you a stronger person. It’s brushing yourself off and refacing the foe that defeated you with the same determination and willingness to fight that you had when you began your journey.
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Freddy WILLEMS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/13/05
Posts: 913
Loc: Hawaii, Honolulu
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Truely amazing Ralf !
Nice,
Freddy
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Freddy
Meade 14" LX200 GPS UHTC GPS on permanent pier (Time Machine)
Celestron C 14" Peltier cooled for planetary imaging.
Meade 10" LX200 & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
Meade 127 mm f/9 APO & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
W/O 102 mm f/7 APO doublet
Orion 80 mm f/7 ED
DFK 21AU04.AS
ToUcam 840 II pro
Canon 10D Unmoddified
Canon 40D waiting to be modded by Hutech
And lots of eyepieces and acc.
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Mare Nectaris
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/09/08
Posts: 1069
Loc: Toijala, Finland
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Hi Preston,
here's some Delta launch history...
Before Tiros 2 (which launched on November 23, 1960), Echo 1 was a failure. Echo 1 A launched on Delta on August 12, 1960. Anyhow, it re-entered and burned on May 24, 1968...
Be well!
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Share - and you shall have it all
Timo Keski-Petäjä
CtheMoon
Observation shelter KuuMaja (MoonHut)
TAL 250K*Celestron C8-N*SkyWatcher Skymax 150 Pro*TAL1(Mizar)*EQ6 Pro SynScan*Celestron Advanced GT (CG-5 GOTO)*Baader Hyperion Clickstop Zoom 8-24*17 mm UWA-70*TeleVue BIG 2x Barlow*Celestron 2x Barlow Ultima SV Series
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Freddy WILLEMS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/13/05
Posts: 913
Loc: Hawaii, Honolulu
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Ralf, were you ever able to image the HST (hubble telescope ?)
It has 1.6 - 1.8 Mag. passes over Hawaii.
Will give it a try soon, don't expect a lot.
Freddy
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Freddy
Meade 14" LX200 GPS UHTC GPS on permanent pier (Time Machine)
Celestron C 14" Peltier cooled for planetary imaging.
Meade 10" LX200 & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
Meade 127 mm f/9 APO & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
W/O 102 mm f/7 APO doublet
Orion 80 mm f/7 ED
DFK 21AU04.AS
ToUcam 840 II pro
Canon 10D Unmoddified
Canon 40D waiting to be modded by Hutech
And lots of eyepieces and acc.
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Freddy WILLEMS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/13/05
Posts: 913
Loc: Hawaii, Honolulu
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Ya Timo, that were the good old days that we were hooked on the TV set to watch the latest news what was going on in space. Brings back a lot of precious memories these days.
Freddy
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Freddy
Meade 14" LX200 GPS UHTC GPS on permanent pier (Time Machine)
Celestron C 14" Peltier cooled for planetary imaging.
Meade 10" LX200 & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
Meade 127 mm f/9 APO & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
W/O 102 mm f/7 APO doublet
Orion 80 mm f/7 ED
DFK 21AU04.AS
ToUcam 840 II pro
Canon 10D Unmoddified
Canon 40D waiting to be modded by Hutech
And lots of eyepieces and acc.
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chutch44
sage
Reged: 02/23/07
Posts: 319
Loc: Pontotoc, Ms
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Great catch, Ralph. Thanks for sharing the history. Much has changed since it's launch.
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Hutch
Celestron ASGT C8
William Optics Z66SD
Meade 3.3 Focal Reducer
Meade Dsi-c
Meade Dsi-Pro II
Plillips SPC900NC
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Ptarmigan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/23/04
Posts: 1873
Loc: Arctic
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Nice image! I can see details on ISS. What camera did you use? I am interested in photographing ISS. 
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Ptarmigans=Cute and Cuddly
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 5328
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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I recall watching Echo fly overhead, it was about as bright as Venus. I still enjoy watching satellites pass overhead. I use a slightly modified Orion StarBlast as a satellite tracking scope.
Neat stuff.
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-John
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Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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Elias
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 586
Loc: Greece
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Amazing work!
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http://www.astrochas.net/
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Ralf Vandebergh
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/25/06
Posts: 822
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Hi John,
I always love stories of people who witness this kind of things.I was born in the late 70's myself...
Ralf
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Ralf Vandebergh
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/25/06
Posts: 822
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Hi Freddy,
We have bad luck with Hubble;I leave in northern regions.We never have any useful passes of it.But for that I'm favourable for the ISS and many other satellites.
Good luck with your session,
Ralf
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jgraham
Postmaster
Reged: 12/02/04
Posts: 5328
Loc: Dayton, Ohio
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Ahah! Welll, way back when visual satellite overflights were so special they were posted back on the weather page (Echo and Pegasus were the two that stand out in my memory). The last sattelite I recall being posted in the Kansas City Star was Sky Lab. Later in life this column inspired me to right my own satellite tracking software; Ground Track for the Apple II. This was the most complex block of code I ever wrote taking two years to complete with about 30,000 lines of compiled BASIC. I still enjoy watching satellites fly overhead; it's a different show every night!
Fun stuff.
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-John
================================================
Homebuilt scopes from 4.25-16.5"
Meade LXD75-N6/SN6/SC8, DSX-90, ETX-60BB, ETX-125PE, DS-2130
Orion StarBlast, BinoViewers, Coronado PST
Rebel XT/XTi, DSI Pro (I & II), DSI, LPI, Electronic Eyepiece, Phillips SPC900NC
Tasco 60mm Refractors
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Elias
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/31/05
Posts: 586
Loc: Greece
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http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081016.html 
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http://www.astrochas.net/
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chutch44
sage
Reged: 02/23/07
Posts: 319
Loc: Pontotoc, Ms
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Congratulations on Pic of the day, Ralph. Very well deserved.
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Hutch
Celestron ASGT C8
William Optics Z66SD
Meade 3.3 Focal Reducer
Meade Dsi-c
Meade Dsi-Pro II
Plillips SPC900NC
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lukasik
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/11/05
Posts: 873
Loc: Lawrenceville, Georgia
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Hi Ralf,
Well deserved congratulations on the APOD. Your practice and perseverance is so evident in your work.
Regards,
Bob
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