International Space Station photographed from Earth

www.smh.com.au...

An amateur astronomer from Sydney's north-west has snapped an amazingly detailed picture of the space station, docked to the space shuttle Discovery, as they passed about 400 kilometres above the city.

Although understandably fuzzy, the shuttle, with its gleaming delta-shaped wings, is clearly visible.

So too is one of the space station's solar arrays that catch sunlight to generate electricity for the orbiting outpost.

The other solar panels - and the US, Russian, Japanese and European modules in which the astronauts live and work - can also be made out.

Vincent Miu, 47, shot the picture from his Baulkham Hills backyard about 6.10am on Friday.

He used a "moderately sized" 30-centimetre telescope, replacing the eye piece with a webcam purchased for about $100. The camera, in turn, was linked to his laptop computer.

While using his hand to steer the telescope, tracking the station across the sky, he shot about 800 frames in about 90 seconds.

"But some were too fuzzy, some were too dim and in some I only got about half the space station," Mr Miu said.

From 10 reasonably good frames he selected the best three, and then used his laptop to "stack" them on top of each other, producing an even sharper image.

So it IS possible to take pictures of Earth-orbit space construction. It makes me wonder about all the images taken by that other guy of supposed alien crafts and whatnot. Nobody could emulate the same method that person used until now!

The house where the man took this image is also relatively near my house so I can say for sure that he would have been getting interference from city lights. Imagine what the images would look like if they were taken in more rural areas where city lights aren't an issue!!

www.smh.com.au...

Check out the link to see the image!

On 6th March 2009 the space station crossed South Africa at 19:09 over Johannesburg. It was great to watch it in an absolute clear evening sky. It was no bigger than Venus as far as visible size is concerned - so it shows you what you can do with amateur equipment.

Why we noticed it, was because it was given a lot of media coverage and people were warned well in advance.

If you spend 100k on equipment
You could probably take pictures of the astronauts through the windows.

reply to post by Wormhole


Great picture but if you really want to see a great snap of the ISS taken from the ground, check out ngchunter's avatar. It's awesome!

IRM

reply to post by InfaRedMan


I like that image too! Looks to be a nice side-on view of the ISS.

I am tempted to go buy myself a decent telescope and attach my 7 mega-pixel digi camera to it and see what I can find!!

reply to post by Wormhole


There are some very helpful people on the forum who would be more than happy to steer you in the right direction if you want to find a suitable scope.

griffinrl and ngchunter are great people to ask! They've certainly shared their valuable knowledge with me.

IRM

reply to post by InfaRedMan


Excellent! Cheers for the head up on who to talk to, I've been shopping around a bit but can't make up my mind. So many choices.......

There may be some creedence to that guy that takes those images of orbiting objects afterall, but when he started supplying sound files to accompany those images, some alarm bells started ringing.

For those that don't want to visit the link.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f743936e013a.jpg[/atsimg]

Thanks for the info.

Great find, OP!

NOW, if only your neighbour can find the 'Secret Space Stations' that John Lear maintains are in orbit, that would be a boon!

Oh....I know....Mr. Lear will just claim that these alleged 'stations' are cloaked, and invisible....well, great idewa while it lastest, eh?

Originally posted by weedwhacker
Great find, OP!
NOW, if only your neighbour can find the 'Secret Space Stations' that John Lear maintains are in orbit, that would be a boon!
Oh....I know....Mr. Lear will just claim that these alleged 'stations' are cloaked, and invisible....well, great idewa while it lastest, eh?

Hi WW! You mean these 'alleged' secret space stations? No, they don't seem to be 'cloaked'!






All pics courtesy John Lenard Walson

Cheers!

reply to post by Wormhole

Nobody could emulate the same method that person used until now!

I've been taking photos of the heavens for years with a decent scope, webcam and laptop. This isn't new. And if I was Walson I'd have gotten my money back if the best I could do with an 8" scope was blurry photos. Check out my photo album in the media section to see what I have captured with a little 80mm (3.1") refractor and Phillips webcam. My stuff is nothing compared to ngchunter. With a decent scope and some patience you can get fantastic images.

My avatar was taken with the little 80mm scope by the way

The house where the man took this image is also relatively near my house so I can say for sure that he would have been getting interference from city lights. Imagine what the images would look like if they were taken in more rural areas where city lights aren't an issue!!

If you're interested in learning about astrophotography you'll find particular filters that will remove specific wavelengths of light. I live right outside a metro area and use filters for light pollution. I do a lot of observing and photographing. I think I can say with very little ego that if these huge machines were in orbit I'd have captured an image of at least one of 'em by now

If you're wanting to do this yourself you can take fantastic photos with a minimum of equipment and just a little practice. It's a lot easier than you think and it's a great hobby for the entire family. My wife is addicted to the telescopes....she's wanting a new 12" Dobsonian reflector now. A Dob would be a great "first" scope. They are inexpensive and you'll get views that will blow you away!

[edit on 24-3-2009 by griffinrl]

reply to post by mikesingh


Cool, Mike!!

Well then....what are their orbits? How high? What inclination?

I want details, darn it!!!

I would also like to know, barring any sort of ET anti-grav device, how the reality of orbital mechanics (NOT two guys in space with a wrench...) would allow the Shuttle, with limited maneuvering fuel onboard, the opportunity to change orbital trajectories so willy-nilly, as Capt. Lear claims.

Unless, of course, the 'SSS' are very near the ISS....n'est pas?

reply to post by weedwhacker


I contacted Walson himself and asked for particular coordinates so I could verify his findings. He told me that he just "knew" where to look. LOL....I've never seen anything other than the ISS scream across the sky. If you have ever see it track across the night sky then you'll have that much more respect for ngchunter's avatar. That's a hard target to image for sure!

Many amateur astronomers have been imaging the ISS ever since the first lump went into orbit. It's a pretty demanding hobby and needs the right gear. However, serious amateur telescopes are excellent quality these days and anyone keen enough to put in some practice can achive excellent results. The Internet is full of amateur stuff on the ISS and such.

As for John Lear's imaginings, that's another story. It's also incorrect to say nobody has managed to duplicate the images of 'spacecraft' created by John Lenard Walson/aka Gridkeeper. I have done so myself and have explained how it can be done in some detail. If you search for the latest 'Walson' thread, I'm sure you'll find it all. I used a Meade 10" Schmidt Cassegrain scope fitted with a Philips SPC900NC ccd camera.

Of course, those images aren't spacecraft, nor are they produced by looking into space. It's done very much on the ground with some optical jiggery pokery. What Mr Walson fails to comprehend is that no object, man made or otherwise, can be simply 'parked' in space as he puts it. Unless such an object is placed in geostationary orbit (some 23,000 miles out), any 'ship' must move across the sky as it maintains its orbital position. To photograph such objects, especially those which are 'secret/hidden/disguised as stars' you must know where they will be at any specific time. You need to know where to point the scope. And that means you need data and that can only come from the likes of NASA and NORAD. So if Mr Walson knows about it, the rest of us know about it.

The bottom line is the Gridkeeper movies are spoofs, made to intrigue an audience that knows nothing about the subject. It's easy to fool a lot of people if you are prepared to work at it. The payback seems to be the following it creates and the pseudo-scientific reputation it provides.

After uploading some video masterpieces of my own, I deleted them from YouTube cos they include some commercial soundtrack. I didn't want the copyright guys on my back. If anyone would like to see these let me know and I'll send you a private view URL.
Here's snapshot:


WG3

thats all good and well but there is nothing alien about the space station
humans built it you know that right

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by mikesingh

 

Cool, Mike!!
Well then....what are their orbits? How high? What inclination?
I want details, darn it!!!

OK WW, here's some gen where you may find some hidden treasures!

www.rense.com...

Cheers!

reply to post by mikesingh


Sorry, mike....

Firstly, it's 'rense'....

But, image No 1? Could not view, 'not enough bandwith'

Looked at images No 2 and 3.....same thing....actually, image No 2 showed a Huey Chopper.....didn't know that a helicopter is a UFO???

Look.....I'll accept top secret orbital platforms of some sort....per zorgon and John Lear's assertions. I will NOT accept the outlandish claims of Capt. Lear, regarding regular STS missions in secret rendezvous with SSS.

BECAUSE....unless Capt. Lear provides better proof, what he has so far isn't up to par.

I know this is about a photo of the ISS by an amateur from the Earth's surface....and that is cool.....

Your links from Rense....well....I will not say any more.

Perhaps I need more convincing. I AM open-minded. The torus-based Anti-Grav propulsion system....I have learned oif that, and it makes great sense....super-fluids, I'm onboard.

It's just, with the unmanned Soviet capabilities using conventional rockets, and the possibility of R-engineered Anti-G propulsion....I just do NOT see the STS Missions being diverted to the SSS......