Friday 13 June 2014

I have been busy - Vicki and I are returning to Killarney Provincial Park at the end of July for a few weeks. I will be posting some activities here. I was "thinking" when a photo from a friend of mine arrived and prompted me to post the following:

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/06/Station_over_Darmstadt

Could be done anywhere - even Killarney! (August 16, 2012)





Here is how:
http://www.heavens-above.com
Go to: "Change your observing location"
Click and a map will open.

Try this to open in Killarney:
http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx?lat=46.0133&lng=-81.399&loc=Killarney+Prov+Park&alt=217&tz=EST

Drag the orange balloon to your oberving site and give it a name. Then click on "Update"
You will be returned to start  and there click under Satellites "ISS" to see "Visible Passes" for the next 10 days.

From my friend:

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2014/06/Station_over_Darmstadt
Credit: Michael Khan, Darmstadt
German original:                                                    and my translation:
Überflug der ISS über Darmstadt ,                        ISS over Darmstadt,
 am 7.6.2014,                                                        Germany on June 7, 2014
Blickrichtung nach Norden.                                    Facing North
Komposit aus einer Serie                                       Composed of 9 individual exposures
aus 9 Einzelaufnahmen,                                           each 30 seconds duration.
00:05 - 00:10 MESZ.                                             Middle European Summer Time
                                                                               (6 hours difference)

Canon EOS 600D, Sigma EX 10 mm f2.8 DC, ISO 200   

One should use a tripod, turn off the "lens-shake" compensator, manual focus to infinity,
possibly set shutter delay to 2-3 seconds, ISO 400 to 800 for a single exposure, 200 for multiexposures,
focal length short: 18mm and 30sec = little star trailing, i.e. sharp point-like stars; longer
focal lengths and shorter exposures, as you wish/trial and error.

And maybe .....

https://mobile.twitter.com/Astro_Alex/status/476441781819936768

Good luck

3 comments:

  1. I heard about a rule of thumb to get no star trails:
    500/focus length = time in seconds for exposure without trails.
    (focus length in 35 mm equivalent)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks. Probably a cosine term with Dec as well. And a guided telescope added on.
    My value would be: 500/18mm = 27 sec and I use 30sec.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would think your 18 mm Pentax has a crop factor of 1.53. So it is equivalent to 27.54 mm compared to 35 mm (Kleinbild) film.
      500/27.54 = 18 sec.
      You can next time try to shoot one picture with your calculated 27 sec and one with the 18 sec. Have fun.

      Delete