ISS Moon Transit
- Col. Chibani
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun 27 Mar 2016, 8:15 pm
ISS Moon Transit
When my company organized an ISS photo contest, I decided that it was the opportunity for me to discover the wonderful world of astrophotograhy.
I know a guy that made a wonderful shot of the ISS passing in front of the Sun (this is called a "solar transit"), while the shuttle was making it final approach !
Being not equiped to shoot the Sun (reminder DO NOT NEVER NEVER TRY TO LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH YOUR DSLR : THIS CAN CAUSE SEVERE EYE INJURIES, INCLUDING BLINDNESS), I opted for a more peaceful Moon transit.
I quickly get introduced with http://www.CalSky.com website, that predicts such transits with French Railways accuracy (i.e. 1 sec).
Luck was with me : 2 Moon transits were to happen in the next days a few kilometers from my holyday place !
A useful "how-to" was found on this website : http://www.triggertrap.com/news/how-to-photograph-the-international-space-station.
The first Transit was a miss : cloudy weather all day, getting better and better ... and finally the last cloud disapeared from the face of the Moon exactly 2 min after the Transit.
Last chance was 3 days later. This time it was a clear night.
The count-down is impressive : the Moon transit lasting 0.6 second, "spray & pray" is the only option and there will be no "bis".
T0 minus 24 hours : settings with quite same conditions, finding the best balance between burst rate and IQ. Memory Card check & batteries loaded (I have a grip).
I did not touch my gear afterwards to avoid any mess-up
T0 minus 1 hour : gear check and loading in the car & car check. Watch sync with web time.
T0 minus 30 min : departure
T0 minus 15 min : tripod set up & setting check / manual focus on the Moon with Live View
T0 minus 10 min : 100 pic / 12 sec trigger check
T0 minus 30 s : last aiming at the Moon (the Moon is moving incredibly fast @ 600 mm)
T0 minus 2 s : fire ! (I had no remote for burst, so I had to keep my finger on the trigger for 10s, trying not to shake)
T0 : my wife, equiped with a pair of binoculars, yells "Gotcha !", as she saw a black dart crossing the Moon
T0 plus 5 s : I release the trigger, being loosely confident on the capability of my better half to make out a Space Station from a bat in the dark
T0 plus 10 s : heart restarts slowly
Now the strange part : I had seen nothing at all but maybe my Nikon caught something. If I had been alone, it would have been a completely blind shot.
Now I have to go through 100 exactly similar-looking Moon shot to find out which ones have a little speck on it.
My wife had me in the car (it was getting cold, even for loving wife, ready to come with me on such a weird middle-of-nowhere not-so-romantic midnight sortie) before I was able to spot anything.
But suddendly, here it is : 4 shots with "something" in front of the Moon !
DSC_7950 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7951 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7952 V3 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7953 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
I think I had never been so photo-happy since my first not-too-blurry quite-framed averaged-exposed Spitire shot 20 years ago.
Many thanks to my wife, the guys behind CalSky, Aaron Harris and my Sun / ISS / Shuttle friend who gave me some last-minute advices, for having made this event possible !
Hello also to Thomas Pesquet up there !
If you have never tried such an experience, to get away from lazy warbirds and boring jets, I highly recommand it !
[EDIT] Typo & grammar corrections
I know a guy that made a wonderful shot of the ISS passing in front of the Sun (this is called a "solar transit"), while the shuttle was making it final approach !
Being not equiped to shoot the Sun (reminder DO NOT NEVER NEVER TRY TO LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH YOUR DSLR : THIS CAN CAUSE SEVERE EYE INJURIES, INCLUDING BLINDNESS), I opted for a more peaceful Moon transit.
I quickly get introduced with http://www.CalSky.com website, that predicts such transits with French Railways accuracy (i.e. 1 sec).
Luck was with me : 2 Moon transits were to happen in the next days a few kilometers from my holyday place !
A useful "how-to" was found on this website : http://www.triggertrap.com/news/how-to-photograph-the-international-space-station.
The first Transit was a miss : cloudy weather all day, getting better and better ... and finally the last cloud disapeared from the face of the Moon exactly 2 min after the Transit.
Last chance was 3 days later. This time it was a clear night.
The count-down is impressive : the Moon transit lasting 0.6 second, "spray & pray" is the only option and there will be no "bis".
T0 minus 24 hours : settings with quite same conditions, finding the best balance between burst rate and IQ. Memory Card check & batteries loaded (I have a grip).
I did not touch my gear afterwards to avoid any mess-up
T0 minus 1 hour : gear check and loading in the car & car check. Watch sync with web time.
T0 minus 30 min : departure
T0 minus 15 min : tripod set up & setting check / manual focus on the Moon with Live View
T0 minus 10 min : 100 pic / 12 sec trigger check
T0 minus 30 s : last aiming at the Moon (the Moon is moving incredibly fast @ 600 mm)
T0 minus 2 s : fire ! (I had no remote for burst, so I had to keep my finger on the trigger for 10s, trying not to shake)
T0 : my wife, equiped with a pair of binoculars, yells "Gotcha !", as she saw a black dart crossing the Moon
T0 plus 5 s : I release the trigger, being loosely confident on the capability of my better half to make out a Space Station from a bat in the dark
T0 plus 10 s : heart restarts slowly
Now the strange part : I had seen nothing at all but maybe my Nikon caught something. If I had been alone, it would have been a completely blind shot.
Now I have to go through 100 exactly similar-looking Moon shot to find out which ones have a little speck on it.
My wife had me in the car (it was getting cold, even for loving wife, ready to come with me on such a weird middle-of-nowhere not-so-romantic midnight sortie) before I was able to spot anything.
But suddendly, here it is : 4 shots with "something" in front of the Moon !
DSC_7950 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7951 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7952 V3 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
DSC_7953 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
I think I had never been so photo-happy since my first not-too-blurry quite-framed averaged-exposed Spitire shot 20 years ago.
Many thanks to my wife, the guys behind CalSky, Aaron Harris and my Sun / ISS / Shuttle friend who gave me some last-minute advices, for having made this event possible !
Hello also to Thomas Pesquet up there !
If you have never tried such an experience, to get away from lazy warbirds and boring jets, I highly recommand it !
[EDIT] Typo & grammar corrections
Last edited by Col. Chibani on Thu 13 Apr 2017, 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check my Flickr gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/126794731@N06/
- ericbee123
- Posts: 2377
- Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 9:13 am
- Location: Blackpool
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Quite simply. BRILLIANT. I would be dancing around with a "blind" result like that.
Disclaimer-I have spell/grammar checked this post, it may still contain mistakes that might cause offence.
Re: ISS Moon Transit
That's incredible - I would be chuffed to bits if I could make a capture like that.
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Re: ISS Moon Transit
Outstanding, and love the narrative
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Wow that's excellent
Ian Harris https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian_harrisuk/
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- capercaillie
- Posts: 9336
- Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 3:04 pm
- Location: Leominster
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Great stuff Colonel.
It sure beats a Tornado.
It sure beats a Tornado.
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Excellent, very well done, the satellite makes it a great photograph.
Re: ISS Moon Transit
A resounding well done sir
As an aspiring Astro photographer who still struggles to set up his driven mount I am in awe.
I was taking moon photos the other evening through my smaller more mobile scope so may well try this myself.
Absolutely excellent, Well done.
POTW?
Jeff.
As an aspiring Astro photographer who still struggles to set up his driven mount I am in awe.
I was taking moon photos the other evening through my smaller more mobile scope so may well try this myself.
Absolutely excellent, Well done.
POTW?
Jeff.
I know you think you understood what I said, but I'm not sure you realise that what I said is not what I meant.
Re: ISS Moon Transit
As others have said, outstanding results
Very well done.
Very well done.
Slackers of the World unite !
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
-
- Posts: 3520
- Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 10:17 am
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Superb capture. Well worth the effort.
Re: ISS Moon Transit
I can only echo what has been said, absolutely brilliant!
Re: ISS Moon Transit
WOW
Canon 800D & Sigma 150-600 C
Dudley, West Midlands
Shows I'm Attending in 2020:
Well Um..
Dudley, West Midlands
Shows I'm Attending in 2020:
Well Um..
- Col. Chibani
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun 27 Mar 2016, 8:15 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Hello and thank you for your comments.
I tried to make a composite image from the 4 photos, but it seems that my camera, or my finger, had a hiccup during the transit, and something seems to be missing :
Fusion by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
I have the choice now to remove the 3rd image or to fake the "missing link" (the latter I refuse, based on some personal, old-fashionned ethics ).
I tried to make a composite image from the 4 photos, but it seems that my camera, or my finger, had a hiccup during the transit, and something seems to be missing :
Fusion by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
I have the choice now to remove the 3rd image or to fake the "missing link" (the latter I refuse, based on some personal, old-fashionned ethics ).
Check my Flickr gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/126794731@N06/
- Col. Chibani
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun 27 Mar 2016, 8:15 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Some news : my photo ranked 2nd place in my company contest (by popular voting), and I was awarded a telescope !*
With it, it is possible to see the rings of Saturn with the (almost) naked eye, which is a moving experience.
You can't help imagining the first guy in history who had enjoyed such a sight .
Last summer, it was the family attraction during the night.
After having recently purchased the required adaptator, I was able to test it with my Nikon D7100.
Unfortunatly, poor weather and a thight schedule prevented me from taking something else than the Moon.
DSC_0824 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
But il looks promising .
* First prize was a DSLR, which I obviously already possess, so I was purposely aiming for 2nd place .
With it, it is possible to see the rings of Saturn with the (almost) naked eye, which is a moving experience.
You can't help imagining the first guy in history who had enjoyed such a sight .
Last summer, it was the family attraction during the night.
After having recently purchased the required adaptator, I was able to test it with my Nikon D7100.
Unfortunatly, poor weather and a thight schedule prevented me from taking something else than the Moon.
DSC_0824 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
But il looks promising .
* First prize was a DSLR, which I obviously already possess, so I was purposely aiming for 2nd place .
Check my Flickr gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/126794731@N06/
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- Posts: 3038
- Joined: Tue 28 Aug 2012, 6:57 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
RRconway wrote:A resounding well done sir
As an aspiring Astro photographer who still struggles to set up his driven mount I am in awe.
I was taking moon photos the other evening through my smaller more mobile scope so may well try this myself.
Absolutely excellent, Well done.
POTW?
Jeff.
POTY.....
John
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Crikey superb captures
- speedbird2639
- Posts: 1349
- Joined: Wed 13 Jul 2011, 11:35 am
Re: ISS Moon Transit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41956191
Now who do we know with a shiny new telescope and a decent camera? Go on Col. You know you want to get up a bit earlier tomorrow.
Nailed on PotW if you get a nice capture!
Jupiter's four Galilean moons will also be visible to those with a telescope
Now who do we know with a shiny new telescope and a decent camera? Go on Col. You know you want to get up a bit earlier tomorrow.
Nailed on PotW if you get a nice capture!
- Col. Chibani
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun 27 Mar 2016, 8:15 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Unfortunately, my telescope is currently stored in my country house, in the center of France, from where I can enjoy the clearest skies you can imagine.
But be assured that I will continue to share with you my future astrophotographic achievements.
But be assured that I will continue to share with you my future astrophotographic achievements.
Check my Flickr gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/126794731@N06/
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- Posts: 1340
- Joined: Wed 17 Nov 2010, 1:20 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Top notch. Go to the top of the class.
- Col. Chibani
- Posts: 436
- Joined: Sun 27 Mar 2016, 8:15 pm
Re: ISS Moon Transit
Thanks to some quite early warm spring days (& nights) in France, I was able to make new trials with my telescope.
This time, I took my time, shot in RAW, used a wired remote (a Christmas present) and tried to fine-tune the focus with LiveView.
With some simple post-processing, here is the result I am quite pleased of :
DSC_1596_00001 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
Next target is Saturn, during Summer vacations !
This time, I took my time, shot in RAW, used a wired remote (a Christmas present) and tried to fine-tune the focus with LiveView.
With some simple post-processing, here is the result I am quite pleased of :
DSC_1596_00001 by Colonel CHIBANI, sur Flickr
Next target is Saturn, during Summer vacations !
Check my Flickr gallery : https://www.flickr.com/photos/126794731@N06/