International Space Center. Mag -4.4. Dec 23 on V3

Finally. Right on schedule. I believe I caught the International Space center … bright in the dark night sky.

The ISS appeared right on schedule a bit after 5:39 am. Height 65.2 degrees to a max elevation of 71 degrees. At an incredibly bright magnitude of -4.4 (although other ISS trackers said -3.2).

(According to professor @bam, the more negative the value the brighter)

All I know is that it was one of the brightest passes the ISS has appeared in my area since I received my Wyze V3.

So when I scrolled back to “view playback” at 5:39, I caught this image, moving in the right direction.

The ISS became even brighter briefly as it continued to move across sky and out of view of my V3.

My ISS sighting, of course, is subject to verification by those who know more about this dark sky stuff than me.

I’m still absolutely blown away by the ability of this new Wyze V3 camera. Particularly the Starlight Sensor and night color vision. Absolutely amazing upgrade to the V2 camera

@mike.s e @WyzeDongsheng @ThreeTen @bam @mvb @Omgitstony

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Those are spectacular, Tod! And such a clear night. You’re right, it is an amazing camera. And for only 20 bucks!

I read an article last night about a photographer who hit the Jupiter/Saturn/ISS trifecta. The video and photo shows the ISS transiting Jupiter and Saturn. https://petapixel.com/…/photographer-captures-iss…/

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Is it really moving that fast? I felt like a plan much closer to earth would not move that fast on a camera…

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I’m not sure. It appeared at that exact time the International Space Station was supposed to appear. Dim at first then brighter. @bam would know.

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The ISS orbits the earth once every 90 minutes. I’d say that’s about right.

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Can anyone tell me if this is the ISS? The top of the picture is south. It starts in the very center of the view and moves up to the top and gets brighter as it goes.

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Thanks @Omgitstony. It sure appeared right on schedule at 5:39 am this am (12/23). according to:

@WyzeDongsheng. Other ISS apps listed brightness as bright as 4.4. It was impressive. Professor @bam once told me the ISS would be bright and fast.

But then again, I’m not an expert so while I’m
Hoping it was the ISS, I can’t guarantee it. But it looks right.

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@todwatts

You have indeed caught the international space station. That is the correct magnitude (brightness) and speed that it would travel across the sky and in doing the adjustments for the field of vision the V3 has that is the right timing it should have.

Very very good capture!

As to what @Omgitstony correctly stated, it does infact orbit every 90 minutes because it’s traveling at roughly 17,000 miles per hour and is approximately 250 mi above the Earth. Hopefully SpaceX can get me up there within my lifetime😇. That’s got to be a fun ride

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Mike, search for “historical record of ISS” for your location. It looked right to me, but what do I know??? If you find the ISS record for the exact date and time of your video, it could prove what you captured.

Professors @Bam and @Omgitstony. does that mean I get an “A” for this semester?

No?

How about an “A” for effort?

Ok I’ll settle for a “”C”

@WyzeDongsheng, @WyzeDave I finally captured the ISS after several false alarms, mind you.). Thanks for building such a wonderful camera! I need to order more V3s. When will they be available for ordering again?

Quick, somebody send Elon a Wyze V3 to take on the next launch! Comp him a one year CamPlus.

We get him addicted to Wyze, we might all get cheaper seat prices.

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I’ve already tried tagging him on the forums here a few times. It doesn’t work out very well…

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Primo Tod. Danke

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thank you for confirming @Bam and great capture @todwatts I had to go back to watch it a couple of more time today.

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Hello @todwatts what kind of app are you using ?

For ISS tracking. I use iOS apps GoISSWatch, ISS Detector and ISS Spotter. But there are a bunch of similar apps for Android and IOS.

For capturing meteors and ISS. I use a very special app called Wyze and a very special V3 camera.

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What V3 settings are you using for rhe star shots?

Hi @RadioMO!

My V3 settings:

Event Recording - Detect Motion

Detection Settings – Motion Detection Sensitivity 100 %

Advanced Settings:
– Record to To MicroSD card On. Select Continuous recording
– Night Vision Mode On
– Night Vision IR Lights OFF
– Camera Status Light Off

It’s rare that a meteor will be bright enough to trigger a recorded Motion Event … but it does happen.

Most of the time, you’ll have to pull the sd card and scroll through the “Record” subdirectory, minute by minute. It’s time consuming, and you don’t have to look through the entire record in one sitting. Just check a few and come back later to check some more.

I don’t think the ISS has ever triggered a recorded motion event on the V3. Best way to capture that is to check any one of a numerous of ISS tracking apps for current or past passes over your house and then pull the SD card and check the corresponding time.

However, this is how I do set everything up. Others may offer you a different opinion, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

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To get the best view of the stars, I set up my camera as follows:
a. Turn night vision ON
b. Turn the IR lights OFF
c. Turn the camera status light OFF (which I do on all cameras anyway)
d. Put camera in Continuous Record mode
e. Point camera in such a way to have an unobstructed view and as far from any light source as possible.
Keep the position of the moon in mind also. The V3 is so light sensitive, that the moon will be a big bright glob in the shot. I tend to point mine straight up, but angled slightly to the north.

And sure, just as I am finishing my reply, I see Tod and beat me to it. LOL

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@mvb Hmmm. Currently my night vision is set to On.

But now that you’ve posted, I think mine used to be set to OFF. @bam or someone mentioned trying to capture color of meteors, so I think I changed it. But, for the life of me, can’t remember when I changed it.

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