Alouette 1 - 60 Years In Earth Orbit
Taken by John Nemy on October 27, 2013 @
Island Stars Observatory, Hornby Island, BC, Canada
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Camera Used: Canon Canon EOS 7D
Exposure Time: 20/1
Aperture: f/inf
ISO: 2500
Date Taken: 2013:10:27 07:45:17
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Details:
Launched on September 29, 1962 , the Alouette1 scientific satellite marked Canada's entry into the space age and was seen by many as initiating the most progressive space program of that era.
After 60 years the Canadian satellite still orbit’s Earth. It is one of the oldest orbiting satellites. It will continue to circle Earth for another 1000 years because of it’s high orbital altitude. Shining at a dim 6.6 magnitude Alouette 1 is just below naked eye brightness. It can be seen through a telescope, if you point it at the appropriate piece of sky.
Also in the picture is the planetary nebula M57 or the Ring Nebula. It can be seen as a small, green, donut of light just off centre of the image. M57 is 2,283 light years from Earth. The double star Sheliak is in the upper right of the scene. It is an eclipsing binary star at 960 light years in the constellation Lyra, the Harp. The faint streak of light is Alouette 1 at 1,139 kilometres above Earth at the time of the photo.
The second image is of Vanguard 1 the oldest satellite in Earth orbit launched 64 years ago on March 17, 1958.
Alouette1 image taken from Island Stars Observatory on October 27, 2013. with a 4” f5.4, 540mm, telescope, Canon 7D camera, ISO 1000, 20 second exposure.
Vanguard 1 image taken from Island Stars Observatory on the evening of September 20, 2014 with same set up, 50 second exposure, as it glided through the stars of Aquila.
Photographer's website:
No URL provided.
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