Saturday, March 4, 2017

What Iss It?

   

   At first (through maybe ten) glance(s) the above photo appears to be an empty or extremely underexposed black field.  It is neither.
   Here is the technical data of the image....
                                                Time/Date.........0643 AM/March 4, 2017.
                                                Exposure..........1/1250 sec @ f/16 at ISO 2500
                                                Focal Length ..700mm (500mm x 1.4x teleconverter)
                                                Camera.............Canon 5d Mark IV

  This version of the photo highlights the location of the subject.


   A closer crop reveals there actually is something in the photo. But what? A planet?

    No.  A tighter crop shows the subject has an irregular shape to it.
   A plane?
  Nope, it's the International Space Station.  The 356' wide object was 264 miles from my driveway when I took the handheld photo.  I'm somewhat pleased with the result that I was able to attain with  my manually-focused lens at an effective 700mm focal length (500mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter).

   Things closer to my house than the ISS was when I took this photo....
                           Wrigley Field Chicago, IL.............153 miles
                           Ford Field Detroit, MI...................204 miles
                           Fort Wayne, IN..............................209 miles
                           Crane Creek SP, OH......................231 miles
                           Dubuque, IA..................................236 miles
                           Point Pelee NP Ontario.................243 miles
                           Copper Harbor, MI........................251 miles
                           Winona, MN..................................260 miles
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5 comments:

  1. Cathy CarrollMarch 4, 2017 at 7:30 PM

    Amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mark WlochMarch 5, 2017 at 5:30 PM

    Thanks, it was such a favorable pass that I had plenty of time to make focus and exposure adjustments.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Paul March 6, 2017 at 9:09 PM

    I'm afraid I'm not convinced. It has a sort of X-wing look to it. Are you sure...?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mark WlochMarch 6, 2017 at 9:48 PM

    In 2017 America everyone is now entitled to their reality. Another fun fact I had to look up 'X-Wing' because....I've never seen a Star Wars movie.
    Stay tuned because Friday morning the ISS is expected to pass in front of the Sun and my yard is only 300 yds from the centerline of the 11 km wide transit path.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Paul March 12, 2017 at 9:26 PM

    I will certainly be watching for more photos. No Star Wars? Are you kidding? I knew there was something just not right about you....

    ReplyDelete

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