Tiangong Through the Lens: A Night with the Chinese Space Station
Space stations, those man-made marvels orbiting our planet, are often fleeting targets for even seasoned astrophotographers. Tonight, I had the opportunity to track the Tiangong Space Station during an impressive 85-degree pass, using my 10" Dobsonian telescope and a ZWO ASI290MC camera with a 3x Barlow lens.
The Challenge of Seeing
While the pass angle was excellent, the atmospheric conditions – what we in the astronomy world call 'seeing' – were less than ideal. This turbulence in Earth's atmosphere can significantly blur and distort details of celestial objects, and it's a constant battle when trying to capture sharp images of fast-moving targets like spacecraft.
Due to the 'poor' seeing, I was only able to stack approximately five individual images. The process involved carefully aligning and averaging these frames to reduce noise and enhance detail. Following this, I used wavelets in Registax, a popular image processing software, to sharpen the stacked image.
Perseverance Pays Off
For a 10" telescope, the level of detail achieved might not be as high as one would hope for in perfect conditions. However, capturing a space station is often a game of chance, heavily reliant on the atmospheric stability of the night. Despite the challenges, I'm thrilled to say I managed to resolve the main structure of the Tiangong Space Station, a testament to the power of persistent observation and processing.
Finding Your Own Space Station Passes
A common question that arises is how to find out when and where to observe these satellites. Websites like are invaluable resources. By inputting your location and time zone, you can get detailed predictions for passes of the ISS, Tiangong, and many other artificial satellites. Many observers at latitudes similar to mine (around 47 degrees North) can successfully track these objects.
It's a rewarding experience to point your telescope at something man-made, hurtling through the void at incredible speeds. Keep looking up, and good luck with your own space station captures!
