Re: [guide-user] Shuttle launch and low-light video

Gary Holahan Dec 1, 2000

Roger,

Several members of local astromony groups in Northern Virginia and
Maryland reported sighting STS-97. The most northern seemed to be
Silver Spring, MD.

Gary Holahan

Roger Curry wrote:
>
> A little off-topic, since this is not Guide-related, but I am
> curious to know how far north along the U.S. Atlantic coast
> that people were able to see the shuttle launch.
>
> A friend and I went to a semi-dark sky site about 45 minutes
> drive out of Jacksonville, Florida. It has a very good southern
> and eastern horizon as it overlooks a large reservoir. We
> enjoyed looking at the planets (GRS was very nicely positioned
> during the time) and a few deep sky objects before the
> scheduled launch time.
>
> About 15 minutes prior to launch, I set up a low-light video
> camera (Supercircuits PC23C) and viewed the output and
> recorded the video and sound using a Sony Hi-8 camcorder
> with A/V inputs and built-in monitor.
>
> Unfortunately, shuttle launches have become so common-
> place that none of the radio stations carry them, so we
> were left wondering if the launch were still "go" or if there
> was a last-minute mechanical glitch.
>
> At about 10:06 p.m. EST (-5 UTC), the southeastern
> horizon suddenly took on the glow of dawn and I started
> recording. When the shuttle came over the horizon a
> few seconds later, it was so bright on the monitor that
> I had to stop down the lens to be able to image the
> growing exhaust trail. We had a nice view of separation
> and I was able to open up my lens and record the
> shuttle among the fainter stars. A short time later, I
> noted a zip of light on the monitor as I was tracking
> the shuttle and told my partner that I thought I had
> recorded a meteor.
>
> I easily followed the shuttle until it approached the
> tree line in the northeast and **believe** I saw
> main engine cutoff before it reached the treeline.
> My partner and I are in a little disagreement about
> this, but I have followed bright satellites going into
> trees before and always there is an opportunity to
> see the satellite between the branches for a second
> or two before it completely disappears. This
> disappearance was quite sudden, like a star being
> occulted by the Moon, and I would bet that it was
> MECO. It would certainly have been nice to have
> been able to have the audio from NASA Select
> while I was observing it to be sure.
>
> Upon checking the video tape, I did, indeed, catch
> a fast meteor in the field (my first ever with the
> low-light video). I have not determined my limiting
> magnitude on the video tape but I believe it is
> between 7.5 and 8, so there were plenty of background
> stars the whole length of the pass.
>
> While we in northeast Florida were favored with good
> location and good weather for the launch, there do
> not appear to be any really good passes of the ISS
> for the duration of the mission. I am curious to see
> how the new array will add to the brightness of the
> station. I would say that it is still somewhat dimmer
> than Mir but a good bit brighter than the HST. Any
> other opinions on that?
>
> Clear skies.
>
> Roger in Jacksonville, Florida.
>
> ---------------
> Roger Curry
> Jacksonville, Florida
> Visit the NEFAS Web Site at www.nefas.org
> Roger's FTP site: ftp://rcurry.dns2go.com
>
>
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