Astronauts on the crew access arm? (Read description)

Описание: I pushed my gear to the absolute breaking point for the launch of Artemis 2, and I think I captured something truly special. While I was waiting for the launch, I had my gear recording the crew access arm from 12 miles away. This is the walkway the four astronauts crossed to board the Orion spacecraft before launching to the moon.

To pull this off from 12 miles away, I had to maximize every millimeter of focal length. Here was the setup: Celestron CPC 800 EdgeHD + Celestron 2.5x Barlow + Sony ZV-E10. At this distance and magnification, the atmosphere becomes a bit of a bitch. You’re looking through 12 miles of heat haze, humidity, and atmospheric shimmer.

The ripples in the air make the image move and blur. Because of this, the figures on the arm are incredibly subtle. If you didn't know exactly where to look or what the timing of the boarding process was, you’d miss it entirely. But despite the distortion, there is a distinct movement and shape that shouldn't be there otherwise.

I know I was pushing my optics to their theoretical limit, but I think I captured the crew walking across that access arm to board their spacecraft. It’s a shimmering mess but holy fuck I think I got something.

I’ve looked at the video a thousand times, and I’m curious to get a second pair of eyes on this. Given the atmospheric conditions and the distance, do you think this is a definitive capture of the crew boarding Orion, or is the shimmer fucking with me? Let me know. I think I see the crew @ 1:50 into the video.