How many of you guys have telescopes that tuned in to make the kind of satellite observations this guy was able to produce. Go to http://www.rense.com/general79/wdx1.htm --------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
His techniques aren't new or "proprietary". Ron Dantowitz pioneered this kind of imaging many years ago. He also imaged Defense-Department satellites, but declined to publish the photos and thus wasn't bothered by the military or intelligence agencies. Some of the size issues noted at the rense.com site are no doubt just a matter of viewing distance. I seriously doubt that there is anything in orbit larger than the ISS. Anybody with a slewable GoTo mount, a computer, and a camcorder can do this kind of imaging. On Dec 17, 2007 6:12 AM, Wilson Family <astro_outwest@yahoo.com> wrote:
How many of you guys have telescopes that tuned in to make the kind of satellite observations this guy was able to produce.
The satellites don't look so unearthly to me. Many just have odd configurations of their solar arrays, and/or are orbiting at angles to the observer. -- Joe On Dec 17, 2007, at 9:23 AM, Chuck Hards wrote:
His techniques aren't new or "proprietary". Ron Dantowitz pioneered this kind of imaging many years ago. He also imaged Defense-Department satellites, but declined to publish the photos and thus wasn't bothered by the military or intelligence agencies.
Some of the size issues noted at the rense.com site are no doubt just a matter of viewing distance. I seriously doubt that there is anything in orbit larger than the ISS.
Anybody with a slewable GoTo mount, a computer, and a camcorder can do this kind of imaging.
On Dec 17, 2007 6:12 AM, Wilson Family <astro_outwest@yahoo.com> wrote:
How many of you guys have telescopes that tuned in to make the kind of satellite observations this guy was able to produce.
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Joe, the site has an allusion to a possible ET source, but I think that was consciously thrown-in for it's sensationalistic appeal. What I'm getting from it mostly is that he thinks some of these structures are huge; larger than the ISS. He's completely forgotten about perspective, and distance from the viewer. A much smaller satellite can appear larger than the the ISS if it's imaged at a closer distance. He also doesn't seem to realize that the USA has no heavy-lift capability other than the shuttle. There are no more Saturn V rockets or launch facilities. A structure larger than the ISS would have to be built in orbit just like the ISS. Is there a secret shuttle fleet being clandestinely serviced and launched from some off-shore facility? LOL! The whole Website is a load of crap. On Dec 17, 2007 10:11 AM, Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
The satellites don't look so unearthly to me. Many just have odd configurations of their solar arrays, and/or are orbiting at angles to the observer. -- Joe
Hi Chuck, On 17 Dec 2007, at 09:23, Chuck Hards wrote:
Ron Dantowitz pioneered this kind of imaging many years ago. He also imaged Defense-Department satellites, but declined to publish the photos and thus wasn't bothered by the military or intelligence agencies.
Do you remember the article about Ron Dantowitz in S&T? I seem to remember his reporting that the "men in black" did visit him once to see how he was doing it. patrick
Yes, but since he declined to publish his photos, he was spared the intimidation of the "Huey visits" and a massive tax audit, IIRC. Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor. On Dec 17, 2007 5:08 PM, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote:
Hi Chuck,
On 17 Dec 2007, at 09:23, Chuck Hards wrote:
Ron Dantowitz pioneered this kind of imaging many years ago. He also imaged Defense-Department satellites, but declined to publish the photos and thus wasn't bothered by the military or intelligence agencies.
Do you remember the article about Ron Dantowitz in S&T?
I seem to remember his reporting that the "men in black" did visit him once to see how he was doing it.
I found the Ron Dantowitz article. Sky & Telescope August 1998 pg 54. The part I enjoyed had him talking about having recently posted some spy satellite pictures to the web. "Soon afterward I got a visit from some folks at the National Reconnaissance Office. I spent 5 hours showing them how my system works. They had timed their visit so that a classified satellite would be passing over Boston and could be used as a target. They didn't give me orbital elements, so I had to use my own database. After keying in the information, the museum's 12 inch reflector automatically locked onto the satellite within seconds and tracked it across the sky at 230x. It was one of the Lacrosse series and dead centered in the field. My guests were very surprised but they remained stoic!" And this was 9 years ago. The pictures accompanying that article and from his 1996 S&T article were great at the time and still look pretty good. But just have a look at what he was able to do earlier this year when ISS and Atlantis passed over: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070628.html Incredible! BTW, all of this talk of spy satellites got me doing a bit of checking and it looks like we in northern Utah will be treated to some pretty decent passes of the NOSS 2-1 cluster (3 satellites that travel in formation) next month. Same for Lacrosse 2, 3 & 5. And speaking of the Lacrosse series, I like the patch NRO issued in 2000 ( http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-083100a.html ) and their slogan "We own the night". Carpe Noctem! patrick
I've seen satellite constellations pass over before. It is indeed a cool site to see. Kind of eerie! On Dec 19, 2007 1:33 AM, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com> wrote:
BTW, all of this talk of spy satellites got me doing a bit of checking and it looks like we in northern Utah will be treated to some pretty decent passes of the NOSS 2-1 cluster (3 satellites that travel in formation) next month. Same for Lacrosse 2, 3 & 5.
That's an astonishing picture. -- Joe On Dec 19, 2007, at 1:33 AM, Patrick Wiggins wrote:
I found the Ron Dantowitz article. Sky & Telescope August 1998 pg 54.
The part I enjoyed had him talking about having recently posted some spy satellite pictures to the web.
"Soon afterward I got a visit from some folks at the National Reconnaissance Office. I spent 5 hours showing them how my system works. They had timed their visit so that a classified satellite would be passing over Boston and could be used as a target. They didn't give me orbital elements, so I had to use my own database. After keying in the information, the museum's 12 inch reflector automatically locked onto the satellite within seconds and tracked it across the sky at 230x. It was one of the Lacrosse series and dead centered in the field. My guests were very surprised but they remained stoic!"
And this was 9 years ago.
The pictures accompanying that article and from his 1996 S&T article were great at the time and still look pretty good. But just have a look at what he was able to do earlier this year when ISS and Atlantis passed over:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070628.html
Incredible!
BTW, all of this talk of spy satellites got me doing a bit of checking and it looks like we in northern Utah will be treated to some pretty decent passes of the NOSS 2-1 cluster (3 satellites that travel in formation) next month. Same for Lacrosse 2, 3 & 5.
And speaking of the Lacrosse series, I like the patch NRO issued in 2000 ( http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-083100a.html ) and their slogan "We own the night".
Carpe Noctem!
patrick
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participants (4)
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Chuck Hards -
Joe Bauman -
Patrick Wiggins -
Wilson Family