ISS with STS-119 and new S6 solar panel Image 2009/03/22(UT)
Mike Salway
M.Salway
| Mike Salway(304mm newton) |
It's been a week but I finally got around to processing these images. On the mornings of Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd March I had a few bright passes of the International Space Station (ISS) over my location. The great thing was that the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) was docked at the time so I was hoping for good seeing and hoping I'd be able to track it accurately. I was able to capture reasonably detailed images during both passes, but of course you always want more. For the image on the 20th, my shutter speed was a little too slow so the frames were a bit soft. The lighting and angle meant the backside of the shuttle was facing us and was not illuminated and could not be resolved. The image from the 22nd shows a lot of detail and structure in the radiators and also includes the new S6 solar panel that was installed by the STS-119 crew on the 21st March. Space Shuttle Discovery is barely visible - only it's tail is illuminated and was just about the noise level.[Mike Salway Central Coast,NSW Australia]
 ALPO-Japan Latest
Oplanets Section
2009/03/23 [Crescent Moon, Jupiter and Stars conjunction]
| 2009/03/21 [EVA-2 (spacewalk) & ISS_S1 radiator-damage]
| |