International space station flying over our neighborhood at 6:22 a.m. on Dec 22, 2018. Shot with a wide angle lens and a composite of several timelapse shots to create the streak (center to left of frame).
I knew people photograph the ISS through scopes but was never really interested myself. The desire of seeing a man made satellite in earth orbit first came to me from astronomy star chart apps that show schedules and durations or Iridium satellite flares. A note in the app said said that they were taking down the last of the last of the older models and replacing with more efficient models with smaller solar panels. These reflected less sunlight and were less visible from earth. So there was a sense of urgency since the last one would be gone soon. And then a gentleman at work mentioned that he had seen the ISS with naked eye. And that it looked like a dot - like the light from a plane with a smooth transit and a steady light.
A few days later, after a little more research on Nasa's schedule, and planning on how to capture it, I had the shot in my bag.
It is indeed a strange feeling seeing this object fly by. I realized why a little later. Unlike a plane which has shining "head lights" that flicker, the ISS has a remarkably steady light (essentially sunlight reflected from its panels) from a sun that is just below the horizon pre--dawn or post dusk.
This shot is a composite of 7 shots, 15 seconds each, stacked together in post processing.
One can see the star trails a bit too. And oh by the way, the streak on the left is the ISS, the queer "object" on the right is just a strange shaped cloud cruising by, repeated in each frame.
I knew people photograph the ISS through scopes but was never really interested myself. The desire of seeing a man made satellite in earth orbit first came to me from astronomy star chart apps that show schedules and durations or Iridium satellite flares. A note in the app said said that they were taking down the last of the last of the older models and replacing with more efficient models with smaller solar panels. These reflected less sunlight and were less visible from earth. So there was a sense of urgency since the last one would be gone soon. And then a gentleman at work mentioned that he had seen the ISS with naked eye. And that it looked like a dot - like the light from a plane with a smooth transit and a steady light.
A few days later, after a little more research on Nasa's schedule, and planning on how to capture it, I had the shot in my bag.
It is indeed a strange feeling seeing this object fly by. I realized why a little later. Unlike a plane which has shining "head lights" that flicker, the ISS has a remarkably steady light (essentially sunlight reflected from its panels) from a sun that is just below the horizon pre--dawn or post dusk.
This shot is a composite of 7 shots, 15 seconds each, stacked together in post processing.
One can see the star trails a bit too. And oh by the way, the streak on the left is the ISS, the queer "object" on the right is just a strange shaped cloud cruising by, repeated in each frame.
Wow !!! I am sure a lot of research went in finding the schedule and then capturing the shot ..Feels amazing .. do we not have any more artificial satellites that are visible from earth ?
ReplyDeleteYes. There are many including the Iridium and old Russian satellites. The ISS is clearly the most famous. It may be dislodged by the SpaceX Skylink clusters soon.
ReplyDelete