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Keyword: skywatcher

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  • Skywatcher snaps photos of stranded Russian Mars probe

    11/30/2011 6:54:34 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 24 replies
    msnbc ^ | 11/30/2011 5:53:06 PM ET 2011-11-30T22:53:06 | Mike Wall
    A skywatcher has photographed a troubled Russian Mars probe that remains stuck in Earth orbit three weeks after its launch. Astrophotographer and veteran satellite spotter Ralf Vandebergh tracked Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft as it passed over the southern Netherlands on Tuesday. Using a 10-inch (25-centimeter) telescope and a video camera, he snapped a series of images at a range of about 170 miles (274 kilometers). "It was bright in my tracking scope, I think it was clearly visible (to the) naked-eye as well with sun at -6 degrees," Vandebergh told Space.com in an email. "Striking was a kind of reddish-yellowish color...