Waiting for buses

Capturing satellites seems a bit like waiting for buses....they all come at once when they do appear. This amazingly synchronous sequence is a bit larger than usual @ 6mb so may take a moment to load.

animated gif. 6.00mb

Lens 40mm. 40 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

Flashing pair

This trio of close following trails had a couple of flashers. The first one has an interesting red component. The last one passes near to the Veil Nebula which is faintly visible on the frames. An oddly lit aircraft at bottom right completes this busy sequence.

animated gif. 4.30mb

Lens 40mm. 40 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

Touch of yin & yang

This satellite looks like opposing meteors as it sails past the Delphinus quartet.

animated gif. 2.73mb

Lens 28mm. 40 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

More flashes

Still no luck with capturing a Perseid meteor but this odd sequence of flashes appeared at bottom centre just before a passing aircraft came through the frame.

animated gif. 2.91mb

Lens 28mm. 40 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

True & false

My previous post mentions noise artifacts that can be produced within the camera . These are relatively rare and initially had me thinking I was looking at some legitimate and very unusual objects until some dark frame tests revealed their true identity. It is quite a coincidence that my next session produced a satellite flash and a camera artifact close to each other on the same frame. This two satellite plus artifact sequence shares the frame with the distinctive quartet of stars in Delphinus.

animated gif. 2.38mb

Lens 28mm. 30 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

A flash with CA

As we are now in the period when Perseid meteors are likely to appear I've decided to use my wider 28mm lens to stand more chance of picking one up. No luck so far with meteors but another mystery single flash was detected (visible lower right).

I have found that sometimes the camera itself can occasionally generate a bit of random noise (other than hot pixels) but such noise is quite easy to identify on enlargement. My 28mm lens suffers some CA around the edges when wide open which shows as offset spots of red. This particular object has an associated red spot so confirms it came via the lens.

animated gif. 1.49mb

Lens 28mm. 30 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

A slow one

At 25 seconds per frame this object appears to be travelling relatively slowly. Its fleeting appearance here covers a period of around 4 minutes.

animated gif. 4.86mb

Lens 40mm. 25 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

A bit of colour

According to my satellite tracker this one is likely to have been Cosmos 338. I found it notable because of its distinctly reddish colour.
An enlargement of the trail seems to indicate the red component might be a series of erratic pulses but whether this is just a result of the photographic process or something else needs clarifying.

animated gif. 3.28mb

Lens 40mm. 20 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

Brief evidence

This one briefly reflects a single flash of sunlight. Whether satellite or debris it helps reveal how much stuff is floating around that is generally invisible unless a chance orientation reveals it.

animated gif. 1.65mb

Lens 40mm. 20 second exposures

(click thumbnail for large version)

Busy spell

This sequence covers a 10 minute period that was particularly busy with aircraft & satellites. 15 second exposures @ 2fps. (best viewed @ 1080HD full screen).