Shuttle/Station photo in front of sun

[gawin]

just saw this on CBS news thought id pass it along.<br /><br />Its a great pic of the shuttle and station passing in front of the sun.<br /><br />Enjoy<br /><br />http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060921.html

 

[SpaceKiwi]

What an incredible photo ... thanks! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><font size="2" color="#ff0000">Who is this superhero?  Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!</font></em></p><p><em><font size="2">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></em></p><p><font size="5">Bring Back The Black!</font></p> </div>

 

[flynn]

WoW... Thanks <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[Boris_Badenov]

Thats awesome, Thx!!! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#993300"><span class="body"><font size="2" color="#3366ff"><div align="center">. </div><div align="center">Never roll in the mud with a pig. You'll both get dirty & the pig likes it.</div></font></span></font> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Magnificent! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[green_meklar]

Wow, that's quite a picture all right! Sort of brings space travel a little closer to home, doesn't it? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>________________</p><p>Repent! Repent! The technological singularity is coming!</p> </div>

 

[qso1]

This is the reason I wish I could afford astrophotography. I'd always wanted to take images of spacecraft from the ground.<br /><br />A truly spectacular image from a highly experienced photographer and astrophotographer. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[holmec]

That's one in a million! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[jmilsom]

Allow me too, to echo the gasps of amazement posted above. Amazing! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[brellis]

ho hum, it's pretty good <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />seriously, thanks -- it's my new desktop too! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[bobw]

Thanks for the link. The picture would have been great even without the orbiter. Amazing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[billslugg]

Does anybody know of a link to get the software that would predict such a thing? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[docm]

Dont be silly. With a proper full-aperture solar filter on the scopes objective any reasonably intelligent person can do solar photography. Astrosolar foil (density 5) works quite nicely. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

You can also buy full-apeture solar filters in the appropriate dimensions to put over your telescope. Orion even sells small ones in pairs to use with binoculars. I seem to recall reading that this particular shot (which I first saw on spaceweather.com) was taken using a telescope specifically designed for solar viewing, however. Those types of telescopes are favored by dedicated sun observers, because they can be fitted with hydrogen-alpha filters to get some really interesting pictures of the Sun.<br /><br />A shot like this takes an appropriately filtered telescope, a good camera, an accurate pass prediction, and an accurate clock. (Invest in an atomic clock if you want to do this. Seriously. It takes *seconds* for the ISS to transit the Sun, so if you blink you really will miss it.) I would think that Starry Night or comparable software would be able to predict the pass, provided you have current two-line elements for the satellite you're trying to photograph. (A TLE is a standardized way of expressing a satellite's orbit precisely. The orbits change over time, and you need a high degree of precision for this. A rough pass prediction won't be enough.) But I've never tried to do this, so I won't guarantee anything. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[flynn]

I have a good one of Venus in transit <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

I've seen those before, and they're every bit as cool this time as they were the first time. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />The one with the jet silouhette is especially dramatic. It almost looks like the airliner is going to Venus! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[strandedonearth]

That is a great pic. That's why I make APOD my home page. Something cool (almost) every day, and I can't forget to look!

 

[kosmonavtkaa]

This site has more ISS transit photos: Ed's ISS Transits Page <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[juwong]

Amazing...<br />i thought it was a big orange around with some flies..

 

[bobw]

I am pretty sure that before this thread the only ground-based picture of the station I had seen was in a Meade telescope catalog. Thanks, all, very nice. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>