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Observing ISS from Sydney
Hi
Is it possible to see the International Space Station from Sydney/Australia with an 250 mm Dobsonian telescope of type as shown in the following link (http://www.bintel.com.au/BT252.html) ? Thanks |
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"Roska Gozwild" wrote:
Is it possible to see the International Space Station from Sydney/Australia with an 250 mm Dobsonian telescope of type as shown in the following link (http://www.bintel.com.au/BT252.html) ? Well . . . You can spot the ISS from Sydney with your naked eye; got to http://www.heavens-above.com/ to get pass predictions for your location. Spotting it through a Dob is another matter. You'd need to know exactly where the station will be in the sky, point the telescope at the precise location and look just as it zips across your field of view. If all goes well you *might* get a glimpse of the station's T-shape. Forget about tracking the station with a Dob. You would have to know which way the bird is moving and wrestle with the telescope to move it, and keep the ISS in the field of view while not jamming the eyepiece into your eye. Congratulations if you can manage it. I've managed to track a few satellites through a 15 cm, f/8 Newtonian on an equatorial mount, but those birds were all moving slowly at the apogee of eccentric orbits. Even then I only saw a moving point of light. --Bill Thompson |
#3
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"William R Thompson" wrote in news:BcFNe.7007
: "Roska Gozwild" wrote: Is it possible to see the International Space Station from Sydney/Australia with an 250 mm Dobsonian telescope of type as shown in the following link (http://www.bintel.com.au/BT252.html) ? Well . . . You can spot the ISS from Sydney with your naked eye; got to http://www.heavens-above.com/ to get pass predictions for your location. Spotting it through a Dob is another matter. You'd need to know exactly where the station will be in the sky, point the telescope at the precise location and look just as it zips across your field of view. If all goes well you *might* get a glimpse of the station's T-shape. Forget about tracking the station with a Dob. You would have to know which way the bird is moving and wrestle with the telescope to move it, and keep the ISS in the field of view while not jamming the eyepiece into your eye. Congratulations if you can manage it. I have a 6" Newt on an EQ mount, no motors. I'm also an aviation enthusiast so I sometimes practice tracking by manually tracking aircraft. Just the other evening I was following a police helicopter while it circled an area about a mile from me. Once I was on the target I was able to stay with it for most of the time. I was viewing at 30x so at times the helicopter overfilled my FOV. Admitedly it wasn't the steadiest view in the world. It just takes practice. I've managed to track a few satellites through a 15 cm, f/8 Newtonian on an equatorial mount, but those birds were all moving slowly at the apogee of eccentric orbits. Even then I only saw a moving point of light. --Bill Thompson Brian -- http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? |
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In message , Skywise
writes "William R Thompson" wrote in news:BcFNe.7007 : "Roska Gozwild" wrote: Is it possible to see the International Space Station from Sydney/Australia with an 250 mm Dobsonian telescope of type as shown in the following link (http://www.bintel.com.au/BT252.html) ? Well . . . You can spot the ISS from Sydney with your naked eye; got to http://www.heavens-above.com/ to get pass predictions for your location. Spotting it through a Dob is another matter. You'd need to know exactly where the station will be in the sky, point the telescope at the precise location and look just as it zips across your field of view. If all goes well you *might* get a glimpse of the station's T-shape. Forget about tracking the station with a Dob. You would have to know which way the bird is moving and wrestle with the telescope to move it, and keep the ISS in the field of view while not jamming the eyepiece into your eye. Congratulations if you can manage it. I have a 6" Newt on an EQ mount, no motors. I'm also an aviation enthusiast so I sometimes practice tracking by manually tracking aircraft. I used to spend a lot of time looking at aircraft with my altazimuth 80mm refractor (easier to track) but I've never tried looking for ISS. I should, because as you can see from this page you can not just see it but image it! http://www.djcash.demon.co.uk/astro/webcam/spacecraft.htm Other people have done the same. |
#5
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Jonathan Silverlight wrote in
: Snipola I used to spend a lot of time looking at aircraft with my altazimuth 80mm refractor (easier to track) but I've never tried looking for ISS. I should, because as you can see from this page you can not just see it but image it! http://www.djcash.demon.co.uk/astro/webcam/spacecraft.htm Other people have done the same. That's pretty impressive results for manual tracking. I think I'll have to give that a try. I only get 40 secs though with my digital camera, but that should be enough! I'll have to wait a week for my next evening ISS pass. But, that'll give me time to practice on some 'dots' first. Brian -- http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? |
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