Space

Left my ESP32 ISS Tracker running for 19 hours. It records the ISS position adding a dash every 5px of movement. Accidental temporal art that reveals underlying physics.

The shapes we're seeing are actually a fascinating result of several factors:

1. Earth's Rotation
- While the ISS orbits, Earth rotates beneath it
- Each orbit takes ~90 minutes
- Earth rotates ~22.5° during that time
- This creates the offset between successive passes

2. Orbital Inclination
- ISS orbits at 51.6° inclination relative to Earth's equator
- From San Francisco's perspective (37.7749°N), this creates:
  - Some passes that go nearly overhead
  - Others that pass at more oblique angles
  - The arcing patterns as it moves from visible to not visible

3. Radar Projection
- We're projecting a 3D orbital path onto a 2D circular radar display
- When the ISS is overhead, it appears to move slower (shorter lines)
- When it's at horizon, it appears to move faster (longer arcs)

The straight line is a discontinuity error in my code…

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creating and destroying; built flying cars & autonomous vehicles, now building roc.camera, writings: july.rocks