TheSkySearchers

I was set up around 9 pm tonight to have a look at Comet Leonard. I had the SW 120mm F5 achro and a17.5mm Morpheus (34x mag) on Leonard, when I caught an object moving in the south. It was quite bright and I figured it was the International space station. Quickly turning to it, I was able to follow it for about 120 degrees or so across the sky. I was surprised to actually see the outline of the panels with an object connecting between them. It looked like a slanted H (see sketch below). Checking the ISS tracker site, it definitely was it, appeared in the SW at 9pm, reached 42 degrees elevation and disappeared in the ENE and was visible for 6 minutes. At a height of 408 Km's, I'm amazed I saw what I did.

Nice catch and nice sketch!

Cool observation. It's not every day that you can see the ISS with such detail. Nice sketch as well. Congrats on winning the first VROD of 2022!

Hello Ivan. This is an excellent catch and sketch of the ISS using your SW 120mm F5 telescope. You have replicated many fine ISS details in your sketch. It is all I can do to track it naked eye through the sky, much less with binoculars, and much much less with a telescope. Thanks for sharing this with us Ivan and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD Award today.

WOW !
This is quite a view and a nice sketch !
BRAVO !
Congratulations on VROD

That is really awesome!

My heart would still be beating fast!

Nice catch!

Great sketch, I thought it was a photo first on my phone screen!

Congratulations on the VROD.

Nice catch Ivan and congrats on the VROD!

Great catch and congratulations on the VROD!

Nice! I’ve seen it with my naked eye so many times early in the morning walking my dog.

Hope to be able to capture it one day through my scope.

Always great to capture the ISS! Amazing sketch!! Congrats on your VROD!

Dave

Yes I have seen it many times naked eye , but never in great detail like that with a telescope , have tried low power 38x with a 8 inch Dobs , not much to see for me and then 200 but then its difficult to catch it , and I never have and I suppose it will move so quick will be hard to see it
I am amazed how well you saw it at similar mag

Thanks all for the likes and comments. I hadn't planned on viewing the ISS, in fact I didn't even know it was going to be visible, just a fluke, and the scope choice that night was for viewing Comet Leonard. Just so happens, it was a good choice for viewing the ISS, coupled with a widefield eyepiece and an alt az mount made tracking it easy. That plus a chance sighting and positioned to view the whole pass unobstructed from West to East made it all come together, it was being at the right place, at the right time,
With the right equipment. Also, panning ahead of it and letting it drift through the field made seeing detail easier, and 34x was enough to see details, any more would probably be harder to track with.