Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx filmed at its flyby with the Earth – 23 Sept. 2023
We succeeded imaging the Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during its flyby with the Earth, going to release its capsule with samples of asteroid Bennu. See our image and time-lapse below.
Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx during its flyby. 23 Sept. 2023.
The image above comes from the combination of 14, 60-second unfiltered exposures, remotely taken with the Celestron C14+Paramount ME+SBIG ST8-XME robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project facility in Manciano, Italy.
We relied on our advanced telescope Paramount ME mount, pointing and tracking the spacecraft thanks to the ephemerides provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Horizons service.
At the imaging time, OSIRIS-REx was extremely low (14 degrees!) above our Southern horizon, with wind and clouds. Despite this, we could clearly spot it and share the view with thousands of people from all around the planet in real time. Using the same set of frames, we managed to create the time-lapse below.
OSIRIS-REx spacecraft: 23 Sept. 2023
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