14 replies to this topic

[Dyno05]

Here’s a link to a video I made last night of the ISS flying overhead at about 90°. I hand held an ES 127 Ed triplet with a Canon T3i shooting video in 1080p 3x zoom video mode. I extracted all the frames that had the ISS in them and stabilized them with PIPP. I then assembled the 500 frames as an AVI.
Thanks for looking.

https://youtu.be/gJkdNO51McA

[Couder]

nice

[dswtan]

Congrats -- thanks for sharing -- most important info though, what's the mount/tracking that you used please? Sorry if I'm not understanding "hand held"!

Edited by dswtan, 23 January 2021 - 04:00 PM.

[Steve OK]

Hand held!  That in itself is amazing, stabilized afterwards or not.

 

Steve

[Dyno05]

Congrats -- thanks for sharing -- most important info though, what's the mount/tracking that you used please? Sorry if I'm not understanding "hand held"!

The mount / tracking was my two hands. I just hold the scope and aim it like a rifle.

[Dyno05]

Hand held!  That in itself is amazing, stabilized afterwards or not.

 

Steve

Yes, I used Pipp to extract, crop and center all the frames that contained the ISS then assembled them as a 30fps AVI.

[dswtan]

The mount / tracking was my two hands. I just hold the scope and aim it like a rifle.

    

[Thrifty1]

Great images of ISS!!!  I am starting my "bucket list" attempts at capturing it.  

 

I tried using some software I have for my 10"LX200 (Satellite Tracker) but if the alignment and time are not dead on, it misses the pass.  And as you know there is little time for making adjustments.

 

The last attempt I just moved the LX200 manually - released both clutches and just hugged it while looking through the viewfinder.  I did get some images but my focus was off so it was blurry.  But I was excited to at least get something.  Here is my first ever image of it - I have a LONG way to go but you have inspired me.  This is with my Canon T3i at prime focus. Not sure if I should also use a focal reducer or not.  I don't think I was using one on this capture.  

 

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Dyno05]

Great images of ISS!!!  I am starting my "bucket list" attempts at capturing it.  

 

I tried using some software I have for my 10"LX200 (Satellite Tracker) but if the alignment and time are not dead on, it misses the pass.  And as you know there is little time for making adjustments.

 

The last attempt I just moved the LX200 manually - released both clutches and just hugged it while looking through the viewfinder.  I did get some images but my focus was off so it was blurry.  But I was excited to at least get something.  Here is my first ever image of it - I have a LONG way to go but you have inspired me.  This is with my Canon T3i at prime focus. Not sure if I should also use a focal reducer or not.  I don't think I was using one on this capture.  

Thank you. My advice to you is to guide that scope on the mount with the clutches released. A red dot, Telrad or Rigel type finder is the easiest to use since your looking down the optical axis. Don’t try to shoot the ISS unless it’s 60° up or higher. On the canon T3i either have somebody remotely fire stills for the biggest field of view or what I do is use the T3i on manual video mode and 3x zoom. It makes the FOV smaller but has good resolution and is shooting at 30 FPS. At f10 I use 1/2000th at iso 1600.

after shooting the video, I run it through Pipp on ISS mode and it automatically detects the ISS in the frames, centers them and crops to 300x300. It rejects any blank frames. Very easy to do. Best of luck!

edit: the 10” SCT probably has mirror flop and that makes maintaining focus as you chase the ISS problematic. If you have a mirror lock, use it.

Edited by Dyno05, 24 January 2021 - 10:51 AM.

[Dyno05]

Here’s a handy chart I made for the ISS distance by degrees.

 

ISS distance chart

20°  642
25°.  553
30°.  485
35°.  431
40°.  393
50°.  360
55°.   317
60°.   299
65°.  288
70°.  279
75°.  271
80°. 268
85°.  264
90°.  262

Edited by Dyno05, 24 January 2021 - 10:56 AM.

[Thrifty1]

Thank you for the great info and tips. I look forward to my upcoming attempts. I’ll have to look up PIPP as I have not heard of it.

Do you have a preferred time for capturing ISS such as within an hour after sunset or before sunrise?

Edited by Thrifty1, 24 January 2021 - 11:15 AM.

[Dyno05]

Thank you for the great info and tips. I look forward to my upcoming attempts. I’ll have to look up PIPP as I have not heard of it.

Do you have a preferred time for capturing ISS such as within an hour after sunset or before sunrise?

Anytime it’s illuminated and over maybe 60-65 degrees and it’s dark enough to have something to focus on if the moon isn’t out.

That’s my only criteria.

[Thrifty1]

Looks like Friday Feb 5th is my next chance for a good pass. I worked on my set-up today. I added my 2nd finder and put my Revolution Imager on that to help with manually tracking it by watching the monitor I have mounted (bottom left in the photo). I put some tape on the monitor screen that outlines roughly what is on the T3i screen. I can use that as an option or just look through the primary finder scope.  I’ll have my son watch the T3i screen to let me know I’m actually getting it recorded. 
 

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[Dyno05]

I did a test on resolution today. 3x video mode is not 1:1 pixels, but it’s pretty close. It’s far better than regular 1080p mode by a long shot. For absolutely best resolution use stills or a planetary/astrocam.

[Thrifty1]

I did a test on resolution today. 3x video mode is not 1:1 pixels, but it’s pretty close. It’s far better than regular 1080p mode by a long shot. For absolutely best resolution use stills or a planetary/astrocam.

Im set up to try the 3x mode on my next ISS pass. I’ve never used the 3x before.