Posted on 04/04/2009 7:03:23 AM PDT by ETL
The International Space Station has grown so big and bright, you can see it even when it is directly in front of the Moon. Oscar Martin Mesonero of Salamanca, Spain, took this picture on April 1st:
Click on link below for a larger image (~750 KP)
(BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE IMAGE ITSELF TO ENLARGE IT)
http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2009/03apr09/Oscar-Martin-Mesonero1.jpg?PHPSESSID=ja5b01lq2khqagamnuk41qbik7
"I recorded the transit using my 8-inch Celestron telescope and a Canon EOS 50D," says Mesonero. "The ISS was much brighter than the lunar background."
His snapshot caught the space station passing over the Sea of Nectar (Mare Nectaris). Just to the north of the transit path is the Sea of Tranquility where Apollo 11 astronauts landed 40 years ago. The ISS seems so close to lunar soil that the crew could hop out for a visit of their own. In fact, the Moon is about 384,000 km away from the Earth-orbiting spacecraft. Astronauts won't be truly close to Nectar until 2020.
The ISS will join the Moon in the evening sky again this weekend. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for viewing times.
more images: from Thorsten Boeckel of Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany; from P. Nikolakakos of Nafplio, Greece; from Joe Westerberg of Palm Springs, California; from Oscar Martin Mesonero of Salamanca, Spain (see the first link below)
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=04&month=04&year=2009
Main page:
http://www.spaceweather.com/
Very cool; great post!
BFL
BFL
I hope I can see ISS-2 in Lunar orbit. This would mean that the Earth Lunar highway will have a truck stop at each end and our Trek will continue outward.
FYI: The International Space Station may “appear” to be close to the Moon in these images, however, it’s actually hundreds of thousands of miles away from it. The ISS orbits at about 200 miles above the Earth’s surface. The Moon, on average, is approximately 240,000 miles away from Earth.
Hey, wait a minute. If the ISS is so far away from the moon, why does it’s shadow appear sharp and clear on the moon? Something isn’t right.
Look at the sun angle (to the viewers right) and the shadows in the craters.
No way the ISS’s shadow could a be directly below the ISS.
It’s not a shadow but darker parts of the ISS. The resolution looks right for that size (8”, prolly f8)telescope and I think it is a really good shot.
That isn't the ISS's shadow. It's part of the spacecraft. It does 'look' like a shadow though.
Also the light source (the Sun) is off to the right. Check out which portion of the moon is being lit (the right half).
As others have said ... that's part of the ISS, not a shadow. Probably the solar panels?
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