ISS Lunar Transit

Yes, you can get some detail of the ISS at 600mm. I wouldn't try if the ISS is low on the horizon. That means that it is also farther away from you. The closest it will be is when it is directly overhead at 90 degrees. Even then, it's 250 miles away and only the size of a football field. I would suggest trying to shoot it at 70 degrees or higher. Those passes are also the brightest.

One photo idea for when it is on the horizon is to take a long exposure, allowing the ISS to make a line across the image. This can make an interesting image if you plan your foreground well. Here's an example: (edit: shutter speed for this one was 40 seconds)

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …15-0481-3-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …2015-7778-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A

sandwedge wrote in post #18261235
Yes, you can get some detail of the ISS at 600mm. I wouldn't try if the ISS is low on the horizon. That means that it is also farther away from you. The closest it will be is when it is directly overhead at 90 degrees. Even then, it's 250 miles away and only the size of a football field. I would suggest trying to shoot it at 70 degrees or higher. Those passes are also the brightest.

One photo idea for when it is on the horizon is to take a long exposure, allowing the ISS to make a line across the image. This can make an interesting image if you plan your foreground well. Here's an example: (edit: shutter speed for this one was 40 seconds)

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …15-0481-3-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

The following shot was with a 100-400 lens on a 7D, so effectively 560mm. The image is greatly cropped. The ISS is only a few pixels, but you can still see some detail. Note: this was a non-visible pass, so the ISS is silhouetted against the Moon:

IMAGE LINK: https://photos.smugmug​.com …2015-7778-XL.jpg&lb=1&s=A on Smugmug

Nice images.

The "problem" is that of what I can see, the ISS passes really low here all the Time (Sweden = north of Europe), So I would have to go quite far down to be able to have it at a higher angle...


/Jocce

Jocce wrote in post #18261237
Nice images.

The "problem" is that of what I can see, the ISS passes really low here all the Time (Sweden = north of Europe), So I would have to go quite far down to be able to have it at a higher angle...

/Jocce

Wow, you are correct! It looks like it never gets above 21 degrees in Stockholm. Your photo opportunities are basically limited to landscapes with a line going across.

If you've never seen it before, it's still worth going out and seeing it. I mean, it's not spectacular, but just the thought that people live on it for six months in outer space makes it cool.

sandwedge wrote in post #18261243
Wow, you are correct! It looks like it never gets above 21 degrees in Stockholm. Your photo opportunities are basically limited to landscapes with a line going across.

If you've never seen it before, it's still worth going out and seeing it. I mean, it's not spectacular, but just the thought that people live on it for six months in outer space makes it cool.

What Focal-length would I need to take the photos from my location?

I will try to have a look at it some day at least, just to have seen it


/Jocce

SiriusDoggy wrote in post #18192883
Excellent work man!
I've found that http://transit-finder.com/ is much easier for the layman to understand than CalSky.
That's what I've used for my past solar and lunar ISS transits and it's very precise.
Congrats!

cant get it to accept my lat and long ..... keeps saying that they are invalid
is it only good for nthrn hemisphere or something ??

Use the "Auto-detect" or "Select from Map" buttons.

Steve.