International Space Station

Visitors to the Observatory often ask whether it’s possible to see the International Space Station (ISS) through the telescope. I finally decided to give it a try, aided by new features in TheSky X, software that controls my mount. It’s a bit tricky to follow, since you need to set up for high magnification and the satellite moves rapidly across the sky. But after a few failed attempts, I was able to capture this movie on August 4, 2014 around 10:10 pm. The sounds you hear are the of the mount tracking the satellite and the dome rotating (near the end of  the video) to keep the slit in the proper orientation.

1 thought on “International Space Station”

  1. This is heartwarming to see . It makes very real the notion that there are people in that station, orbiting the earth.
    I love the pictures they send back of the aurora.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.