When the sky is clear I run cameras pointed at the sky to take photos of satellites overhead.

The satellites get identified by NORAD ID, then pictures and orbit data get uploaded to this server, sorted by ID:

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

I started tonight with 7,974 unique satellites in the archive. I would expect to end the night with over 8,000 different satellites photographed.

The image attached shows the #stvid software processing the data in semi-realtime.

#satellites

@cgbassa did some analysis of the data with his sattools software; he is also the author of stvid, which was used to acquire and process the images.

#stvid #sattools

The picture is a plot of the data. The night sky is plotted what it looks like from my location at 05:14 UTC (late night local).

The yellow plots show what satellites are in the sky at that moment, with ID.

Red are photos I took.

White are stars; blue lines constellations.

https://github.com/cbassa/stvid

https://github.com/cbassa/sattools

Just got a huge bright train of sats, but I'm not sure what they are.

A whole bunch starting 7xxxx, which afaik isn't used yet. Will need to poke into it, maybe temporary IDs.

#satellites #stvid

Seven cameras are running.

One isn't set up with focus yet...

A couple are just getting "red" which is due to clouds.

The nice thing about a bunch of cameras. They photograph different parts of the sky that are clear on a partly cloudy night as the clouds move across the sky.

So in an hour, perhaps, the red ones will be getting sats while another part of the sky is obscured by clouds.

#stvid

With feedback from Pierros, this is what I've come up with for a colorblind friendly palette for stvid.

#ColorBlind #stvid

I have been working on a color palette for stvid that works with various conditions of colorblindness.

I used this website to test the images:

https://asada.website/webCVS/

The colors I am limited to is the Matplotlib "named colors".

#ColorBlind #stvid

On another note, it looks like McCants' old domain has finally turned off, so the web URL for classified TLEs (orbits) had to be changed in stvid.

New classified satellite TLE URLs:

https://mmccants.org/tles/classfd.zip

https://mmccants.org/tles/inttles.zip

The file "update_tle.py" needs the new URLs.

#stvid #McCants

It was supposed to be crappy skies tonight, but it turned pretty clear and now is supposed to be clear.

So cameras are out! I have seven running now. I built another today.

Photos are of satellites and their tracks in the sky. Then some fancy software figures out which satellite it is based on the track. Magick.

#satellites #stvid

Archive now up to 7,250 unique satellites photographed and identified. Organized by ID here:

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

I'm checking out for the night I can barely type straight, too sleepy. Cameras will run all night. They'll get the most sats at dawn.

#satellites #stvid

I posted the data about the classified satellites' orbits to the seesat-l mailing list.

Eleven classified satellites were photographed and identified. IDs here:

19460
26905
28096
28537
28538
28541
31702
37162
38770
41334
43145

Archive, sorted by ID:

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

Seesat-l post:

http://satobs.org/seesat/Apr-2023/0101.html

#satellites #stvid

I setup a new camera last night with a 50mm Canon DSLR lens on a ZWO ASI1600MM and Odroid M1.

This picture is the first classified satellite it photographed.

The satellite was launched on September 8, 2001.

ID 26905.

https://spacecruft.fit/sats/26905/

#satellites #stvid

Been running the satellite cameras all night.

Set up a new one, was a total pain, but it is minimally going now.

Gear:

50mm Canon L F/1.2 lens.

ZWO ASI1600MM

Odroid M1

#satellites #stvid

7,025 unique satellites in the archive and growing.

Archive sorted by ID:

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

#satellites #stvid #SatNOGS

Clear tonight!

Cams are set up for satellite photos as soon as it gets dark enough.

In other news, I got assigned COSPAR ID 7099 for my ground station! Woo. That gets used in stvid IOD output for the station number.

Image processing tonight is going to use different TLE sources for Oneweb and Starlink sats, which should be more accurate.

Also working on a stvid color theme that is colorblind friendly.

#COSPAR #stvid #satellites

Up to 7,018 satellites in the archive now.

I'm reworking my summary scripts...

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

IOD

https://spacecruft.fit/app/stvid/dat/spacecruft-stvid-2023-04-10-14.dat

#satellites #stvid

A bunch of Starlinks in a row, like a train.

Launched in March, 2022.

Captured a series of them from ID 55996 to 56013!

#satellites #stvid

Cameras up and running for satellite photos.

https://spacecruft.fit/sats

#satellites #stvid

About 00012, Cees Bassa, author of stvid software and much more, writes in Matrix:

Nice! That may well be the oldest object that my software has detected!

This one is too low inclination to be visible from my location, so my oldest is Explorer 7 [00022/59009A].

In the past I've tried to observe Vanguard 1 [00005/58002B] which is the oldest object still in orbit, but it's always been too faint

#stvid #SatNOGS #00012

Five cameras running, taking satellite photos tonight.

Switched to a nice blue background with white stars, looks more natural than the inverted one before.

First ID was space junk again, of course.

#satellites #stvid

Here is an updated stvid IOD ".dat" file of the archive:

https://spacecruft.fit/app/stvid/dat/spacecruft-stvid-2023-04-07-15.dat

#stvid #satellites #SatNOGS