ATV-3 imaged over Germany

Many thanks to G. Glitscher who was up early this morning!

These images show ATV-3 in the bright western morning sky over Darmstadt, Germany, and were made 22 minutes after launch at 5:56 CET (short streak). The star at left is Arktur in the constellation Bootes. The ATV was an easy, fast-moving naked-eye object (-1 magnitude). Very impressive! 23 March 2012, 5:56 CET, 1/4 s, F = 18 mm, f/3.5, ISO 800, Pentax K110D on tripod

Credit: Gunnar Glitscher, AAW Darmstadt e. V.