So your question is more one of framing and composition rather than one of exposure, over or under?

Well my original question was exposure, but then I answered it myself. The answer is that everyone uses different exposures and they all seem to work.

So now I've moved on to composition. This is gonna be 110 miles away, so I want to zoom way in, but not sure just exactly how far to zoom in. And I only get one try, so I have to get it right.

OK folks. space.com has an excellent resource for how to see the launch.

I learned that in my location I'll be able to see it 96 seconds after takeoff and it will get to a maximum altitude of 12 degrees above the horizon.

Go to the link above, but here is another map of the areas where it ill be visible. The further away you are, the lower it will be on the horizon, so you need to get on a hill with no trees. Or a big parking lot with no tall buildings nearby. Those of you up near Philly will have a nicer view of the parabola flight path than I will.
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Oh, and I'm excited because the space station will go flying directly overhead for me just 2 minutes after the launch, going almost directly towards the rocket launch. It will be obvious from my location that these two space craft are planning to meet up. I wish I had a huge fish eye lens that could capture in a 5 minute exposure the ISS at one end of the sky streaking directly towards the rocket at the other end of the sky.

The astronauts on the ISS will be able to easily see the launch if the windows are facing that direction.

The ISS path:

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Is there a page where you can get up-to-the-minute updates at launch time? I would like to try to see it again, but it would be nice to know it's not been delayed before heading out.

I've been watching their facebook page ("NASA's Wallops Flight Facility"), and there is a phone app too ("What's Up at Wallops.")

But they don't seem to have the staffing to keep these things updated by the minute.

NASA TV will be broadcasting it live starting an hour before and they would have up to the minute stuff. Maybe Space.com would be good.

I dunno. I have the same question.

Ok, a couple more questions.

How confident are you at your ability to align your camera at the launch point / point over the horizon where the rocket will initially appear?

At 110 miles away, I sincerely doubt that even at maximum zoom the rocket will fly out of your frame, assuming it was in the frame to begin with. However! Having said that, here's a link to a table and some formulae that will let you calculate just how much sky you will be able to see with your camera, assuming you know some of its physical characteristics like maximum zoom focal length, sensor size, etc.

As for exposure, I've found the greatest success for nightime long exposure shots to set the iso/sensitivity to the minimum, including activating any neutral density filters if available, and cranking the shutter speed to the slowest possible value (15 seconds on one camera I used to take almost all my pictures with), and the smallest possible aperture, since you're not interested in any kind of shallow depth of field and it will further reduce the amount of light getting into the camera.

This combo will produce the trails effect you're talking about. There will be plenty of light coming in from the source, a pinpoint of light against the relative dark, and since it's moving, you'll get a streak. Maximizing the exposure will also give the longest streak, since the sensor will be exposed to the maximum distance the subject will travel.

If you're uncertain about aligning the camera, you still have all the same issues, but by widening your field of view, you only increase your chances of catching the launch outside the center of the frame. I think if you do know where to aim the camera, you'll probably be happy with the maximum zoom.

I learned the rocket will reach a height of 12 degrees above the horizon at my location, so I can definitely zoom in too far so that it flies out of frame. I'll have to eyeball it with my fist as a 10 degrees representation. That will tell me how far to zoom in.

I went back to a star shot I took at Bryce canyon and that was ISO 80 at f/2.8 for 60 seconds. It made stars nicely exposed, and this rocket will be brighter than stars, so I think that same exposure will do nicely.

Now my only concern is when exactly liftoff is. They keep saying it's at 6:45. But I want to know if that means 6:45:00 or if it's more like 6:45:25. I want to start my 60 second exposure just before the rocket comes in to view, which is T+96 seconds where I am.

I imagine I'll just wait until I first see it and then press the shutter button. I wonder if it's worse to jiggle to camera a little bit pressing the shutter button, or not jiggle the camera by using the 2 second timer but then miss 2 seconds of the visible liftoff.

I think I'll just try to press the shutter button gently.

I'm quite confident. The rocket is launching from pad 0A at Wallops which is located at 37D 50' 02.04" N, 75D 29' 15.93" W. If you get in Google earth and draw a measuring line with a ruler from that point to your viewing location, you can see what objects in the foreground it all lines up with. I'm planning to sit at the corner of a soccer field, and look at the parking lot between two specific buildings at the heliport on the other side of the river about two miles away. The buildings are easy to pick out because they are next to a small control tower.
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The only way it might be a problem is if the large parking lot at my preferred viewing location is full and cops are preventing parking on the grass. I had considered this, but nobody in my life is talking about the launch except for the folks here in the Cellar. It should be pretty empty.

If I couldn't park there, I would have to find another viewing location in a hurry. And we could be screwed.

Regardless of the outcome of your photographic safari, I hope you're prepared for the post launch-'em depression. :unsure:

"scrubbed due to a boat in range area."

We had fun playing with the pencils on the bench.

Actually it was really incredibly cool at the end of the runway. It had been a couple years and I had forgotten.

Space station supply launch called off in Va., space junk scare requires lab's relocation
Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Nation/20...FbjaZjuSpLi.99

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A space station supply ship will have to wait another day to fly.

Orbital Sciences Corp. counted down to the final several minutes Monday evening for the launch of its unmanned Cygnus capsule from Wallops Island, Virginia. But a boat was in the restricted danger zone, and the liftoff was called off.

The Virginia-based company is expected to try again Tuesday.

Just five hours earlier, the space station had to sidestep a piece of treacherous junk. NASA says debris from an old, wrecked Russian satellite would have come dangerously close to the orbiting lab if not for the maneuver.

The unmanned Cygnus holds 5,000 pounds of space station cargo for NASA.

Orbital tweeted that the launch will now take place Tuesday night at 6:22 p.m.


http://www.wboc.com/story/27024327/a...ps-how-to-view

Cloudier today and won't be very dark at all. I may not even attempt to watch it. The timing is bad too, I'd have to really rush to get out the door. Sucks. Last night was so perfect.