Random Thoughts of Chris Tilley

Heavens Above is a cool site that I found last summer. You put in your address and it tells you all the satellites that are going to go overhead that night right down to the exact time and a map of the path it is going to follow. I took the extra step and registered and looked up my exact lat and long on Google Earth. The first night I was out I spotted a Russian Electronic Intelligence satellite going over my house. That was really cool and a little freaky at the same time. I have stared up at the sky before and seen satellites go overhead and known they were satellites but not exactly what they where. I also tried to take a pictures. I set up my camera to take pictures every 30 second for a 15 second exposure (maximum exposure unfortunately). I propped up the camera aimed were there was going to be a satellite and let it run. This is what I got.

I believe it is Kosmos 2237 Rocket Body. That links to the a picture of the type of rocket that put it up. Its payload that day was a Tselina-2 electronic intelligence satellite. Plan to try again this summer when its a little warmer. Need a tripod to aim better and a long USB cable so I can control the camera from inside