Posted on 03/05/2010 9:33:47 AM PST by ETL
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Last night in Minburn, Iowa, photographer, Tom Bailey pointed his camera at the Pleiades and opened the shutter. Within 30 seconds, a spaceship bisected the star cluster followed shortly thereafter by a disintegrating clump of comet dust. Unlikely? Here's the photo:
Photo details: Nikon D5000, Nikon 135mm lens, f2.0, 30s
The image was part accident, part design. "I positioned myself at a location where the International Space Station would pass directly in front of the Pleiades," says Bailey. "Right on schedule, I spotted it creeping up over the trees and making a beeline for the cluster. Just as it passed, an unexpected meteor streaked across the field of view. Wow!"
Wow, indeed. Seek out your own crossings using the Simple Satellite Tracker. And don't forget, there's an app for that, too.
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=05&month=03&year=2010
It should be mentioned that many constellations are made up of stars that are nowhere near each other, except from our perspective.
Yes, good to note for those unfamiliar with the subject: The LOWER the magnitude number, the BRIGHTER the objects. The brighter magnitudes have NEGATIVE signs. i.e., a minus 3 is brighter than a minus 1. A minus 1 is brighter than a 1. A 1 is brighter than a 3. Minus 1 to minus 3.5 ISS passes are very bright and easy to see with the naked eye.
I intentionally stayed away from Iridium Flares. Way too difficult to explain how to see them from so many different locations as we have represented here. They are precise down to the second for a very narrow set of locations. They basically are mirror-like sun reflections beaming off antenna panels of one of the 60 or so Iridium satellites orbiting the Earth. They can get as bright as -8!
Yes, that’s true of constellations and many other background stars. An intrinsically brighter star farther away can have the same apparent brightness as a dimmer one much closer to home.
Thanks for the link. Going to try it!
You’re welcome. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. I should be around most of the day.
*ping*
Wow! Awesome picture!
Thanks.
thx. interesting.
Just took a look at my location - no Iridium flares tonight, but I will have a nice view of the ISS.
I had the Nikon f2.0 135mm lens once. probably the best lens I ever had, dont know why I sold it.
Their f2.8 80-200mm zoom lens is overrated IMO.
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