Astronomy - Observation of Pluto, Astra, Solar eclipse...


Visual observation of Astra satellites

Equipment & Conditions:

  • 1m telescope from C2PU (D=1.0m, F=3.4m, 1.820 arcsec/pixel)
  • Exposure time 50ms, 100x acquisitions without NUC or with offset correction
  • Messier 11, Messier 15, NGC 7331

Astra group:

  • ASTRA 1N 9.9 (magnitude J)
  • ASTRA 2A 10.3 (magnitude J)
  • ASTRA 2F 10.0 (magnitude J)

 

telescope obeservation of Astra Satellites
Courtesy of Alain Klotz, Michel Boër, Jean-Pierre Rivet and Philippe Bendjoya

 

Results:
Readout noise (132±6) electron/pixel
Dark current (121,000±1,000) electron/pixel/sec at 15°C
Linearity <0.5%
With a 1m telescope, magnitude J=14.6 can be achieved in 5s (100 x 50ms)


Extrapolations:
With -40°C cooling 1.2 magnitudes would be gained on the detection limit
With a 30cm telescope 1.4 magnitudes would be lost on the detection limit

 

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