ISS & Space Shuttle Atlantis Docked!

Well done! Interesting to see where most of the reflected light was coming from. I'd assumed it was from the solar panels but most seems to come from the shuttle and the ISS structure. Make sense I suppose, the panels would need to be at just the right angle to reflect the sunlight.

Dear Frank,

Please accept my sincerest congrats for these GREAT captures. I am truly impressed with the quality of the photos and the perfect exposure. For the latter, did you have some AUTO setting or was it preset and, if so, at what value?

I hope you are aware of the fact that one of these gems is lead photo on SpaceWeather.

Excellent work!

Thanks Anthony.
I am humbled to receive praise from such an experienced astrophotographer
as yourself! :oops:

I didn't use any Auto settings.
I basically used Venus as an indication of the Mag I would be aiming to capture. My frame rate and settings were set for that along with focus.

Here is a screen shot of the capture software I used during the recording.
farm2.static.flickr.com/1059/540548853_f701cde5e0_o.jpg

How long will it be before we see a shot of an astronaut looking out the window?

Imagine catching a space walk...no that'd be cooool.
I wonder what kind of mag / aperture you'd require for that!

WOW :shock:

I've seen a lot of your photos on the site and I have to say I'm very impressed, you set a VERY high standard for the rest of us, well done.

Holy Cow! Jeeze Frank, for a newbie, you're really coming along! Absolutely fab image, I love it! :shock:

Seanie.

How long will it be before we see a shot of an astronaut looking out the window?

Imagine catching a space walk...no that'd be cooool.
I wonder what kind of mag / aperture you'd require for that!

Gentlemen,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news BUT this is not possible. Assuming an astronaut is 2 meters (in height), we do not have the ability for that kind of resolution (ignoring the issue of seeing).

Just to give you an idea, the ISS spans tens of meters and you see how 'small' it is in all our photos. Now, interpolate for 2 meters and you will probably end up with a fraction of a pixel being the analog for a 2m object.

To make matters worse, an astronaut is 2m only in one dimension ... add the second dimension (ie. width) which is not even one meter and the problem just got much worse.

Hi Frank,

Well done super images. I love them' the detail is great I cannot speak highly enough.

It was a great event to witness.