International Space Station

Sadly clouds ruined an amazing 89 degree pass of the space station, but tonight there was a 44 degree pass. It wasn't a great pass, but good enough to take the telescope out.

This pass was at 6pm, and it turns out it wasn't very dark at that point. Usually when trying to photograph the space station I have to really dial in all the details on the telescope, both collimation and focus. I was able to get the collimation, but without any other stars I was forced to do my best on the focus. It turns out my focus was good, but not great.

For this picture I used 1/1600sec shutter speed and ISO 6400. It's hard to get a sense of the station because the focus isn't great, but with the 3D model next to it much of the station structure becomes more obvious. The American section on the right is visible, as is the Russian segment on the left. There is even a hint of the thermal radiators above the pressurized portion of the station (the horizontal portion is the pressurized living quarters).