MOST caught on camera!

MOST is a very small package (less than 1 square metre) orbiting constantly near the boundary of night and day (800 km up). Unlike the International Space Station and larger satellites, you'll never see it by eye. And you'll find precious little about it on satellite tracking sites like Heavens Above.

But MOST is not so small that it cannot be seen - if you have the right equipment.

It turns out that a Toronto RASC member, Eric Briggs, photographed MOST passing overhead. He used a special computer controlled telescope about the same power as the large one I take to our camps but with faster optics (f2).

He posted this amazing video on You Tube:



Update: Some IE users are having trouble seeing the embedded video. If you can't see it above, try this link.

MOST is very hard to see early on. It appears almost as a ghost in the center of the video as the scope tracks by stars. Best to look about 4-5 minutes in.

h/t to Dr. Jaymie Matthews for this