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350 miles above Boston: Ron Dantowitz of Hayden Planetarium, Boston, Mass., used C-Sat satellite
tracking software in conjunction with a Meade 12" LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system to obtain this
remarkable video image of Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with Space Station Mir on November 16, 1995. At
the time of the exposure the docked Atlantis-Mir were 350 miles above Boston and traveling at a speed of
17,100 miles per hour. The outline drawing at right points out specific features of the two spacecraft,
including such details as the Shuttle's rudder and wing-silhouette. Although Mir's solar panels are only about one meter
(39") wide, they are clearly resolved by the telescope's 12" optics, even at a distance of 350 miles. C-Sat software works
through a personal computer to locate and track automatically over 3500 Earth satellites with any Meade LX200 model. For
further information access the C-Sat web page at http://www.skyshow.com. Photo courtesy Museum of Science, Hayden
Planetarium, Boston, Mass.
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