This page holds video taken by amateur astronomers and other enthusiasts. If you are able to videos or images one of the Starshine satellites, feel free to contribute, we encourage it! We'll take Quicktime MOV's, Microsoft WMV's and RealVideo RM files. E-mail videos of Starshine 3 to the site curator.

A flash from Starshine 3 recorded by George Varros from Mount Airy Maryland. Vega is visible at the right edge of the sceen. Only a few bright stars were visible as the sun was 27 minutes from cracking the horizon. Imaged using a Super Circuits PC164C monochrome video camera with 8 mm f/1.2 c-mount lens.
338 kb Real Video file - 381 kb Windows Media file

An instantaneous first magnitude flash from STARSHINE II was recorded by Paul Maley on December 25, 2001 from the deck of the cruise ship ROYAL PRINCESS. The ship was travelling from Port Stanely, Falkland Islands to Ushuaia, Argentina and was located at 53 deg 07minutes South, 60 degrees 05 minutes West at 0431UT when several flashes from the satellite were seen visually. An 8mm SONY TRV-35 camcorder was used in low light mode and was hand held during a gale.
915 kb RealVideo File

This RealVideo recorded by George Varros from Mount Airy Maryland shows two flashes from Starshine 2 as it passes almost directly overhead. The field of view is approximately 75 degrees and uses a Gen II image intensifier coupled to a PC-23-C monochrome video camera.

157 kb Real Video file

Starshine 2, probably taken on December 16 2001 - Picture taken by Hubert Degroote, 8seconds ,Sony DSC-S75. Further data on time or flashes is unknown.

This image of STS-108 some 7 minutes after its 5:19pm EST liftoff, was captured by David Varros from Frederick Maryland, a couple of hundred kilometers away, using a Celestron C-8 telescope and video camera. Knots of dense gas can be seen travelling down the length of the flame in this 1/3 speed slow motion video!
Spectacular video (354 kb RealVideo)
Click here for a montage of several images.

December 5, 2001 STS-108 liftoff as seen from Mount Airy, Maryland.
(532 kb RealVideo) - (465 kb Windows Media Video)
This video was taken by George Varros some 7 + minutes after STS-108's 5:19pm EST launch on December 5. The Space Shuttle Endeavour's velocity becomes obvious when compared to a cloud and an airplane in the field of view, both of which are a few hundred kilometers closer. At this point, the Shuttle is perhaps less than 100 miles off the North Carolina or Virginia Beach area. Occasionally, a very short and faint plume can be seen which is tilted downward and to the right, or behind the shuttle, at a 30 degree angle. It sometimes assumes a "V" shape. Imaged with a PC-23-C Video camera and 55mm Pentax lens. The field of view (FOV) is 5 degrees or less.

Starshine 3 Olivier Staiger (380 kb Windows Media Video) A single flash from a wide-field camera.

Starshine 3 George Varros (606 kb Windows Media Video) The 3 flashes in this video occur at the very top of the screen and are dim.

Return to Project Starshine Home Page