I Will Have a Naked Eye View of the ISS Over Town This Week, Lets Get Pictures/Video?

I was actually trying to find any more information on the Boeing E-3 Sentry that I saw flying fairly low yesterday during the sonic boom nobody here or locally wants to bother acknowledging, and when I typed in search terms e-3 fly over tampa or awacs fly over tampa I find out I will have some view of the ISS. Cool man!

The following ISS sightings are possible from Thursday Dec 7, 2017 through Thursday Dec 21, 2017
Date Visible Max Height Appears Disappears Share Event
Thu Dec 14, 7:02 PM < 1 min 16° 11° above NNW 16° above N Facebook Twitter
Fri Dec 15, 6:11 PM 3 min 14° 10° above N 11° above ENE Facebook Twitter
Fri Dec 15, 7:46 PM < 1 min 14° 12° above WNW 14° above WNW Facebook Twitter
Sat Dec 16, 6:54 PM 5 min 85° 11° above NW 28° above SE Facebook Twitter
Sun Dec 17, 6:01 PM 6 min 37° 10° above NNW 10° above ESE Facebook Twitter
Sun Dec 17, 7:41 PM < 1 min 10° 10° above SW 10° above SW Facebook Twitter
Mon Dec 18, 6:49 PM 2 min 24° 24° above SW 11° above S Facebook Twitter
Tue Dec 19, 5:57 PM 2 min 33° 33° above SSE 12° above SSE

So, any ideas on the best way to capture something like this on camera?? I saw it last year too on the way to go fishing on the bay. I guess a bunch of us can see this thing every now and then and we just do not even realize it?

Is there like a telescope club I can look up?? If there was such a thing, I am sure there would be one in this city. Theres people filling every niche out here. I would pay to see it like through a lens that gives me a clear image. I once saw Mars when I was a kid and Jupiters Rings, but I never see the kind of scopes in stores that I use to find in science stores in malls when I was younger. Those science stores are also lacking as of the last two decades, damnit.

Venus sneaks out into the sky every other night this time of year. But I would just love to see with my eye through a focused wormhole the actual metal of that station. What kind of telescopes would see it if at all possible for a civilian??

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Any half decent scope would do, the issue for a new sky watcher may be just getting the thing to show up in the eye piece, I would make sure the finder scope is dialled in then start start off with a large eye piece something like a 32+ then magnify down as you please.

I am not sure if Meade, Celestron scopes have the ISS in their auto star database as that would be the easier option to just let the scope track, otherwise you will have to manually adjust as it moves..

If you have a "guided scope" and the ISS is in the data base piggy back a SLR camera on a log exposure or if you are inclined use a modded webcam (Very popular a few years back)..

My scope that got the most use (sadly very little now) would be my travel option which was a William Optic ZS66 on a Vixen Porta mount and Celestron eyepieces, did everything I wanted all over the world, once you get into the big boys toys it becomes a tick sheet when you set up and honestly the whole Idea was to get out looking at cool stuff so I kinda went full circle, heck I love even using a good pair of Binoculars if I am at a dark site but I am a Refractor guy through and through.

RA

a reply to: worldstarcountry


Any camera that you can set a shutter speed for a few seconds can record it as a trail , do a google image search you will see examples usually with info on equipment used,

ISS & Venus in Daylight


Pic

An insect and the Moon? A UFO near a streetlight? A Photoshop job?

Nope. It’s the International Space Station, passing near Venus in broad daylight.

How cool is that? It was taken yesterday by the accomplished photographer Etienne Simian of Saint Martin de Crau from the south of France. He was using a relatively modest 8″ telescope and a webcam

I don't know if you used this.

www.calsky.com...

I've seen the ISS pass over a couple of times.
That sucker is trucking.
Be ready with your camera.
Good luck and best of wishes.

a reply to: skunkape23

Its certainly not hanging around.
Saw it myself a couple of years ago.
A local astronomy club do a get together for public non members near me so I got to see the moon , like I've never seen before, through some really cool telescopes.

The ISS was naked eye viewing but still bright.

It was bloomin' freezing, though. Wish they'd have a summer meet up to look at the moon again but I suppose there's less light pollution in the dark and dank British winter.

I've seen the ISS many times, it looks gorgeous. You can use www.heavens-above.com to see when the ISS will be passing over your location (along with times fr other satellites and iridium flares).

A telescope, if you'll find it, will have to have fairly fast and accurate tracking, because the ISS moves across the sky pretty fast. I'd rather suggest you use binoculars.

You can film it with a camcorder, no problem there.

a reply to: worldstarcountry
I can see the ISS sometimes several times per week, mostly in the Winter due to the fact that I don't have to get up too early to see it. I get an e-mail telling me (usually) beforehand.

Some cliff notes... =)

The ISS is an object that reflects light, so it is way brighter than a star, so that means that with a regular camera that doesn't have any manual abilities will be of no help. The light needs to be managed in a way so that will help you see what is actually there, kind of like sunglasses in a way. When I shoot that, or stars I stop down my lenses to where I can see a faint dot in my camera's view finder, that means a really small diameter hole that makes it to where it won't be blown out, a blob.

As far as taking a picture of it, it's a lot harder than it may sound. I use a 400mm lens that I will also use either my 1.4 or my 2.0 converter which makes them 560mm or 800mm respectively and I still just see a tiny little dot.
Then I have to take it into Photoshop and enlarge it to where it will start to take shape, then on to Curves to make it even more legible. Still, after that I still need to sharpen it and make a few more adjustments usually.
Even after all of that it's still a small image on a large black background. I mean, yeah, I can see detail in it and see that it is the ISS but it's nothing to brag about. =)

You have to use a very fast setting in your camera, (shutter-speed) and it helps to have a good lens if you want to STOP the action, if you wanted an ISS trail you would have a tripod and use a slow setting and you would get a bright streak.
Your phone's camera 'may be' able to take a picture of it, but it would be severely lacking and you will be disappointed.

Being able to focus is actually the hardest part using a DSLR, you have to have your lens focused (beforehand) to Infinity for it to be something that you can see later on. The Infinity icon (Similar to the number 8) on (most) lenses are not exact, you need to pre-focus on something (such as a very bright star/planet) so you can be ready to get your shot.

The ISS moves 'so fast' that you would think that it's a jet or at least a helicopter, trying to keep up with it with a camera on a tripod is very hard, not impossible, but really hard to do. Keeping up with it without a tripod is a LOT easier, but you have to be fairly skilled when using a long lens that would be able to capture it.

Trying to track the ISS with a telescope is something that I would imagine would be nearly impossible. The reason is that the more magnification you have, the harder to 'acquire' your subject, meaning, it's virtually impossible to keep up with.
If you have ever looked through a telescope and tried to find the moon you will know what I mean, AND, then try and keep it into view, it's really, REALLY hard to do, and that is an almost static object.

Binoculars is the best way to see the ISS, it's still VERY cool, I still always enjoy watching it.
Binoculars that are strong enough can show you how cool it is to actually see a really fast moving thing in the sky that you 'know' that people are actually in, that's pretty cool to me.
The bad thing is, even with very strong binoculars you will not be able to see any shape to the ISS, it will look like a fast moving Venus on a good day.
Personally I use a Nikon 10x50 pair of binoculars that I use for star gazing and ISS stuff, it's quick and easy, doesn't cost a lot either. My binoculars cost me around $140. (US) a few years ago, stay away from Bushnell's though, they sell them cheap because they are junk. I have bought more than a few of them and each one always had a focusing problem, you just have to use one eye...

Anyway, even if you went to a sky-watching party for people that star gaze you won't see anything, not unless someone there is a real expert on the subject, but I have never read anything at all saying that it can be accomplished.

The camera angle won't do you any good not unless you sink enough money to buy the necessary equipment, which would be in the thousands.
You could go out and buy a Nikon that has the BIG zoom and you would be able to use those images, but you would also have to go through a lot to learn how to use it. You would also have to either learn how to use Photoshop (or the equivalent) or have someone that knows how to process those images.

Your best bet right now is to use binoculars, and subscribe to one of the ISS forums that will send you an e-mail the day before so you can try each time to get a good shot of it when you do use a camera.

Well, i only wanted pics and vids of the bright streak of it, not necessarily of the actual physical station. But I was hoping it would be possible to see it with my eyes through a scope. Im just going to try to catch the streak every night with my cellphone, and then edit it into a collage video showing each nights pass. Im an amateur here, and just wanted to record the way it looks in the sky. So if a cell phone camera can do that, I will see what it can do.

But I would really just love to see it in a scope, that would really be special to me.

a reply to: worldstarcountry
If your hopes aren't too high, then your cellphone might just get you what you want.
Still, I would definitely try and borrow some binoculars, for me that is a really good way to see it, I wouldn't call it a religious experience, but it's close. =)

Have fun seeing it, hopefully no clouds are there to thwart you.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
I was actually trying to find any more information on the Boeing E-3 Sentry that I saw flying fairly low yesterday during the sonic boom nobody here or locally wants to bother acknowledging,

Pictures of the USAF E-3 Sentry at following Twitter link.

twitter.com...

Another sighting over Valrico.

twitter.com...

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
But I would really just love to see it in a scope, that would really be special to me.

I can help make that happen. I don't want to say too much or I might get banned, but I've tracked ISS for sidewalk astronomy events around the Tampa area on a couple of occasions. I'm part of the Chiefland Observers club and I used to volunteer at the sidewalk astronomy events at MOSI in Tampa. I've got satellite tracking software for my telescope which makes it possible to see ISS very clearly in the eyepiece. I probably won't be able to make any public astronomy events next weekend though, but if you want to come up to the Chiefland monthly star party sometime I can probably track it if it's visible. It's so bright it's even possible to track it in the daytime.

Unless it's high overhead, don't bother.

When it passes overhead, you can see detail with the naked eye.

originally posted by: FlyingFox
Unless it's high overhead, don't bother.

When it passes overhead, you can see detail with the naked eye.

If you are taking about the ISS that's rubbish it only appears as what looks like a very bright star travelling quickly across the sky you won't see any detail with just the naked eye.

a reply to: SpaceTracker

Very interesting.
I have not heard of anyone that could do this with a telescope, is there any photographs or video that we might be able to see?
I know that you can piggy-back a telescope with a DSLR, but I have not heard of any way to track something that is as fast as the ISS.

Any links would be greatly appreciated, I'd love to see this.

Thanks!

a reply to: wmd_2008
I agree with you on this, it's REALLY, REALLY bright that the first time I saw it (about 5:00am) one morning I actually thought it was a helicopter, it looked like I could reach up and pluck it from the sky. There was no way that I would have been able to see any details because of the reflective light.

Of course there's no way that anyone can prove that it can, or can't be seen by the naked eye, so...
I will say that it is BEST to see it when it is overhead, that means that you will also see it a lot longer too.

a reply to: wmd_2008
Yea I saw it two nights in a row last year. Just looks like a bright star hauling ass nearby. Maybe somebody will make my wish come true soon though.
Check your messages SpaceTracker.

a reply to: tommyjo
I wonder if the Valrico sighting was it leaving the area? Because I saw it flying south from Pasco county along 301 by the Machine Auction while paintballing. It was pretty damn low for whatever reason. Low enough to realize just how large that radar disk is. Its pretty big. Valrico was quite south and East from where I saw it.

originally posted by: recrisp
a reply to: SpaceTracker

Very interesting.
I have not heard of anyone that could do this with a telescope, is there any photographs or video that we might be able to see?
I know that you can piggy-back a telescope with a DSLR, but I have not heard of any way to track something that is as fast as the ISS.

Any links would be greatly appreciated, I'd love to see this.

Thanks!

Sure, here's one of my photos of ISS through my telescope:

i.imgur.com...
I used Brent Boshart's satellite tracker software to take that particular image, though it's got quite a learning curve to it. The software works by predicting where ISS will be and then slew the telescope to that location. The trick I've found is to use a wide angle viewfinder camera in a second screen next to the main camera video view to make it easier to fine tune the tracking. I'm also developing software to make it much more automated and ultimately simpler, but I can't talk too much about that or I'll probably run afoul of ATS rules and regs. I'll shoot you with a PM with some info though.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: wmd_2008
Yea I saw it two nights in a row last year. Just looks like a bright star hauling ass nearby. Maybe somebody will make my wish come true soon though.
Check your messages SpaceTracker.

Unfortunately it seems I can't reply to PM messages yet, nor can I generate my own private messages except to staff. Well, crud. I hope this doesn't get me banned, but I don't have much of a choice except to share this info here. Here's the website for the group I'm a part of:
chieflandastro.com...

We have a yahoo group where we communicate most of the time. Membership is currently free, so PLEASE don't ban me, I'm not trying to solicit for anything! Even the program I'm developing to track satellites like ISS, it's free too, and I'm not giving out any links to it. Just trying to give someone here info on how to see ISS through a telescope.
groups.yahoo.com...

We usually head up to Chiefland around the new moon weekend each month, if the weather is good. That would be this weekend, but I can't make it then due to Christmas preparations and such. I'm tentatively planning to be at Chiefland on the weekend of January 13-14 if the weather is good. ISS will be making a pass at about 8 am on the morning of the 14th according to its current orbit, and if that holds true I would be able to track it that morning before tearing the scope down (it is actually visible in broad daylight, especially to the telescope). If you can make it then I can see if I can track it and show it. Be prepared for the cold and be advised that all lights must be red filtered after dark. Also please do keep in mind that it's not like a normal sidewalk astronomy event; most are there just to enjoy time privately viewing space with their own equipment and aren't necessarily looking to share. I'll be glad to share what I'm capturing, but it's not generally a public outreach event.

a reply to: SpaceTracker
Ok so 19 north to Levy county. Got it. I feel like shooting for a January visit is not unreasonable. From what I read there, it does seem like you guys found a great site. Thats a cool shot of the ISS, I bet it looks much clearer through the lens with your eye only right?