HST-Moon Transit
Posted: 14 April 2015
I received a notification from CalSky.com that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) would cross the waning crescent Moon at 060550 MST on Tuesday, 14 April 2015:
I decided I would try to capture the HST with my new D7200 DSLR. I had previously captured the HST crossing the Moon on 29 April 2013, 25 June 2013, and 8 June 2014.
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Open: Tuesday, 14 April 2015, 0436 MST Temperature: 59°F |
Session: 807 Conditions: Clear |
0445 MST: viewed Saturn, 83X and 222X. Five moons were visible: Titan, Dione, Enceladus, Tethys, and Rhea.
0457 MST: viewed the waning crescent Moon, 222X. Seeing was not good but there were some nice views. Began setting up for imaging of the HST-Moon transit. Mounted the D7200 DSLR on the 8" LX200-ACF at prime focus. Took this photo (mirrored to match the CalSky graphic above), 1/250sec, ISO 800:
Added the 2X PowerMate for these 1/250sec, ISO 4000/2500/2500 (respectively) images:
I then did a test HD video recording of the Moon. 0532 MST: ready for the HST-Moon transit. 0540 MST: took this iPhone 5s photo of the telescope, camera, and the crescent Moon:
I resynced the observatory clock to WWV in preparation for the HST-Moon transit to occur at 060550 MST.
At 060500 MST, I began the HD video recording, 1.3X crop factor, 60fps, 1/640sec, ISO 6400. The recording lasted for 1m37s. Here are three full-frames from the HD video showing the HST (illuminated):
This compilation (cropped and oriented to match the CalSky graphic) shows each frame with the HST (moving from left to right):
Click or tap on image see QuickTime movie (1 second)
In the video you can hear me state "50" to mark the predicted time of the transit (060550 MST). CalSky.com hit it exactly!
Seeing was not good enough to show the shape or details of the HST. Unfortunately, each magnified frame was slightly blurred and showed a different "shape".
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Close: Tuesday, 14 April 2015, 0619 MST Temperature: 59°F |
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