ISS Strike at the Center of the M106 Galaxy

astrofotografie, astronomie, astronomy, astrophotography, canes venatici, galaxy, m106, messier, star, stars, stern, sterne
ISS Strike at M106 Galaxy – 15 May 2020 02:18 CEST

When the ISS flew over Cologne, Germany on 15 May 2020, 02:17 – 02:24 CEST, the path went straight through M106 which I was imaging at that time.

Given the recent Starlink upheaval, I was a bit angry that one of my subexposures had been ruined by a bright satellite. But on second thought I realized that this was a special event. The path of the ISS flyover can be seen here on heavens-above.com.

Single image, exposure time 10 min, not stacked. See below for technical details.

Backyard astrophotography in light-polluted Cologne-Dellbrück (SQM 20.0)
Skywatcher Esprit 100/550 ED, Skywatcher Flattener, IDAS LPS P2, ASI 294MC Pro
OAG with Lodestar X2
Mount AZ EQ6 GT
Image acquisition: CdC, APT, PHD2, dithering
Single image 600s, gain 120, -10C, 30 flats, 59 darkflats, 17 darks
Data calibration/integration: PixInsight
Image processing: PixInsight, Photoshop, Lightroom