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kleinbl00 · 3347 days ago · link · · parent · post: The ISS passing in front of the moon... during the eclipse!
Or you can cheat. Full disclosure - a friend's dad is the administrator on the TMT. I've had the luxury of asking stupid questions about big scopes, and discussed adaptive optics with the guys at palomar; I figured I could probably put together my own MEMS rig and get something impressive. As it turns out, adaptive optics require a skookum laser the likes of which you get into serious trouble for possessing, let alone turning on... at least, they did at Palomar standards. The Kirkland mirror was old and first gen and probably a testbed for something military. And really - if you want to look at satellites, do it from orbit. I'll bet a 30" aperture fits in an X-37 no problem.