Phobos-Grunt 12/18/11
230 views · Published 18 December 2011 · 0:25 · Indexed 25 September 2026
Channel: Astronomy Live · 2011 · Science & Technology
Unfortunately due to a power interruption, my telescope rebooted right as the tracking began. I had to do a very quick and very dirty computer re-alignment even as Phobos was rising into the sky. Rebooting while the computer was still trying to send commands sent the drives into a nasty series of oscillations, making steady tracking impossible. I trimmed the video to just the segments where Phobos-Grunt passed through the field of view and slowed the video to 1/3rd speed. Tracked with an 8" LX200 telescope using Brent Boshart's Satellite Tracker program. Recorded with a modified Samsung SDC-435 @ f/10. 1/500 sec exposure, AGC off.
