The International Space Station (ISS)

Derby and District Astronomical Society

This image of the ISS was captured by Chris Callaway on 26 March 2025. The image was taken using a Canon 5D camera and a Meade LX200 8" telescope on a Celestron AVX mount. The mount was hand operated with the ISS kept in the finder scope view with bursts of images taken as the ISS approached the centre of the crosshairs. The camera settings were shutter speed 1/1250th sec and ISO 5000 with continuous shooting selected, an intervalometer was used to capture the images. Accurate alignment between the finder scope and main telescope is required for this technique to work. The image was enhanced in Photoshop. Image Credit: Chris Callaway.

The week beginning 22nd March 2020 saw the International Space Station (ISS) making visible passes over the UK in the early evening, passing through Orion, then the Hyades in Taurus and finally past Venus and the crescent moon. Here is an animation of its path through Orion on the 22nd March at approx. 20:28 UT taken by Pete Hill. It comprises 3 images taken with a Canon 450D camera and Sigma 18-250 zoom lens. This was tripod mounted and a shutter release cable used. The focal length was 26mm, aperture F/10, speed ISO 800, and a 25 second exposure was used. The images were processed in Photoshop CS6 and animated using Jasc Animation shop. Image Credit: Pete Hill.

Pete Hill took this image of a pass of the International Space Station (ISS) on the evening of the 1st December 2019. On this pass the station reached a maximum altitude of 74° at 180° azimuth and a magnitude of -3.8. The shot shows the ISS as it passes into the earths shadow just above Pegasus and heading towards the cross of Cygnus. An image is also included with the constellations highlighted. Pete used a Canon 77D, Canon 15mm fish-eye lens, F22, ISO 3200, and a 17 second exposure. The camera was tripod mounted with acable shutter release. The image was processed in Photoshop. Image Credit: Pete Hill.

The following two images were taken by Pete Hill and capture an ISS pass over the UK on the 19th December 2014. The first image shows the ISS at the zenith and passing just above the Great Square of Pegasus. The second shows the ISS setting in the east and passing just to the right of the Pleiades and Aldebaran (the latter just peeking out to the left of the trees). Both images were shot using a Canon 450D camera with a Canon 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 400, F10, and 50 second and 35 second exposures respectively. The camera was on a tripod with a remote cable shutter release. The images were shot in RAW and edited in PS 6. Pete also took a 2 minute 24 second video of this pass which may be downloaded here. The video was taken using a Canon Legria FS406 with AWB manual focus and exposure, on a tripod, at 25 frames/sec and edited in Videobrowser SD. Image Credit: Pete Hill.

Chris Newsome captured this ISS pass over Porthmadog on the 15th April 2014. He used a Canon 40D, 10mm semi-fisheye lens, and 10x20 second exposures at 400ASA. The lights along the bottom of the image are from Boston Lodge, the engineering depot for the Ffestiniog Railway. Mars is in the lower centre of the image and the glow on the hill is the moon rising. Image Credit: Chris Newsome.

Barry Ashforth captured this image of the International Space Station (ISS) from Derby on the evening of the 14th March 2010. Image Credit: Barry Ashforth.

The very faint trail across the lower part of this picture by Simon Allcock is the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis passing over Derby at 17:37 on the 26th November 2009. Simon comments: "At the time when I took the picture Atlantis had undocked from the station and with the naked eye you could see the ISS closely followed by Atlantis. It was an awesome sight! As they were on the same orbit it just shows one trail. I had to mount my Canon EOS 400D on my tripod as the ISS and Atlantis only reached a maximum altitude of 13 degrees (my observatory walls were too high to piggy back on my LX90!), which was when they were closest to Earth. They travelled in the direction west-south-west to south and were of magnitude 0.0. The exposure time was 148 seconds at F6.3, ISO 400. When I looked at the image I could not see anything but sodium light and half Moon light pollution! I opened the image in CS2, magnified and cropped the area where I thought the ISS/shuttle should be, did two Grad X passes over the image and hey presto there they were!" The bright 'star trail' near the top of the image is Jupiter. Image Credit: Simon Allcock.

Simon Allcock captured this image of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Atlantis passing across the sky from Derby at 18:31 UT on the 20th November 2009. He used a Canon EOS 400D camera at f6.3, ISO 400, and an exposure time of 68 seconds. The ISS and Atlantis were orbiting west to south-west, and reached a maximum altitude of 35 degrees. The closest they came to Earth was 570 km and they had a magnitude of -1.9. The trail ends near the star Altair and the star Vega appears near the top of the image. Space Shuttle Atlantis, on mission STS 129, was commanded by Charlie Hobaugh, and was on a 12 day mission delivering 27,250 pounds of parts to the Space Station, including a spare gyroscope. The mission also featured three space walks. Image Credit: Simon Allcock.

The International Space Station (ISS) appears in silhouette against the Sun in this image by Chris Newsome. Chris writes: "Either there is some dirt on the sensor of my camera or there is dirt on the mirror of the societies LX90? Or could it just be that while I was imaging the sun this afternoon, the ISS flew right across the face of it?! Here is the picture I captured. It was taken with a Canon 400D, Meade LX90 + solar filter, 1/250th second at 1600ASA. I took a burst of 30 frames in 10 seconds and only two had the ISS on it (it transits the face of the sun in 3/4sec!). The centreline of the transit path ran about 500m south of my location in Spondon and was bang on time at 16:00:10secs!" Image Credit: Chris Newsome.

Barry Ashforth captured this incredible image of the International Space Station (ISS) from Derby during it's pass on the evening of the 17th May 2009. Image Credit: Barry Ashforth.

Chris Newsome captured the ISS as it passed over Derby on the 6th February 2008 at 18:46 - 18:49. As seen from this location it travelled just north of Taurus. Chris used a Canon EOS300D camera with an 18 mm lens and Astronomik CLS filter. The exposure was 10 minutes at 100ASA. Image Credit: Chris Newsome.

This time-lapse image by Chris Newsome shows the trail of the International Space Station (ISS) across the sky with Space Shuttle Atlantis docked during mission STS-117. The image was taken around 23:00 BST on the 10th June 2007 during the first full orbit with the craft docked together. The linkup had occurred on the previous orbit at about 20:35 BST while the two craft were over Australia and their first pass over the UK after that was in daylight (the pass Chris captured here was the first after sunset in the UK). A Canon EOS300D camera was set up on the back of a Skywatcher 102T telescope which was in turn placed on a CG5-GT mount and pointed in the direction of Arcturus. The spacecraft approached from the west horizon to pass over Derby at an altitude of 62°. The camera exposure lasted 30 seconds and was taken at 200 ASA. The image was processed in CS2. Chris remarks that initially he pointed the set up at Vega before he realised he was pointing in the wrong direction and moved it! When he checked the screen at the back of the camera he thought he had missed the trail. A week later he decided to check the memory card in the camera just before he was about to press the delete button and there was the trail - straight across the field of view with Arcturus below it and the trail itself going straight through Corona Borealis! So, ALWAYS CHECK YOUR CAMERA. You never know what you may miss! Image Credit: Chris Newsome.

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