Attempting to track the International Space Station
At 5:40am local time, I attempted to track the International Space Station. This was the 4th attempt, with previous attempts having various issues such as weather.
This time the weather was clear, and everything was set up. It didn't go as well as I had hoped, but it wasn't a total loss either. In this video, I track what I believe to be the ISS.
There also weren't any other objects in the sky that were bright enough to show up on the cameras. Also, its motion before I started tracking it was different than background stars, and once it was tracking it behaved similarly to the Atlas-Centaur 2 I tracked with the finder camera on two previous nights (one of which you can see the results here: • I captured footage of a rocket that's been... )
Unfortunately, I believe my alignment was off, probably due to lower than "norminal" battery levels in the telescope base. The focus on the main camera was probably also off slightly, but I had the main camera overexposed more than it probably needed. I was planning on adjusting it but ended up only getting the ISS in the frame for a second or two.
That said the SatTraker software I got from @Astronomy_Live did its job as best it could. I also modified the code to rotate the image from the finder cam, and I used the software and my scope in EQ North mode. It's possible any of those may have played a factor in my less-than-stellar results, but I may just need more experience doing this.
There is another opportunity that should be somewhat decent. It's a lower pass on the horizon, and mostly in the western sky, though it'll be slightly dimmer but should still be well within what the equipment can handle. Plus there are a lot fewer obstructions and lights in that direction.
If you're interested in trying out SatTraker, you can check out this tutorial Astronomy Live posted a year ago, which includes in the description where to get it: https://www.youtube.com/live/X4riSWZ0.... Also, check out some of his videos where he's tracked the ISS recently.
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📸 Gear used:
Camera: @CanonUSA EOS M50
Telescope: @CelestronDotCom Nexstar 4SE
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