COVERDISC DECEMBER 103

SKILLS

How to
O

OBSERVE THE ISS

Learn how to nd, observe and even capture images of the orbiting space lab
rbiting almost 400km above the Earths surface and travelling at speeds in excess of 27,000km/h the International Space Station (ISS) sounds like an impossible target to detect. But, with some careful planning, its possible to observe and even image the ISS from the UK. The space station makes regular passes over the UK, orbiting at a 51 inclination from the equator, so there are lots of opportunities to spot it with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. If you decide to use a scope it will need to be freely mounted in order for you to track the space station by hand. When setting up your scope, make sure you have a clear view of the entire pass.

An example of an ISS observing chart from

the Heavens Above website

Imaging techniques
You dont need expensive imaging equipment to capture the ISS. With just a simple DSLR youll be well on your way. DSLR and tripod With a simple setup like this its easy to capture the ISS as it makes its pass above. The result will be the same as a single bright star trail. Any digital camera can be used as long as it is mounted to a tripod and has a long-exposure (bulb) setting. DSLR and telescope You can capture more detail by attaching your camera to a telescope. Its far better to use a hand-guided mount. Use the

A detailed, face-on view of the ISS taken

with a CCD camera

Online resources
The best way to discover where and when the ISS will appear in the night sky is by using an online tool like those featured on Heavens Above (www.heavens-above.com) or CalSky (www.calsky.com). Whichever site you decide to use, its important you enter your latitude and longitude as this will be used to calculate the geometry of the pass. In the chart at the top right of the page, Mag (magnitude) refers to the space labs brightness, Alt. (altitude) refers to its position above the horizon and Az. (azimuth) refers to which direction you should look. Remember, the ISS always moves from the western horizon to the eastern horizon when viewed from the UK.

cameras self-timer to take a burst of shots or a single shot. As digital cameras often have larger chips than webcams, youre more likely to capture the ISS in a single frame. CCD camera and telescope With CCDs snapping thousands of frames during a pass, you will capture far more detailed images using this method. Once again, use a hand-guided mount to track the space lab and stack the frames during postproduction using software such as RegiStax.

Observing techniques
The ISS is one of the brightest objects in the night sky so it is possible to observe it with the naked eye, however you wont be able to spot any detail. Using a telescope or binoculars to observe the ISS will make it appear far more brilliant. When it emerges, it will look about the same size as Jupiter and, with very high magnication, it is possible to make out some detail.

skyatnightmagazine.com

NASA, MARTIN LEWIS