APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Weehamster

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Weehamster » Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:12 pm

My guess is its off the U.S coast at San Francisco. It kind of looks like Bay area off in the distance. :)

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by nz1m » Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:20 pm

Does Max Q need a ukulele player? http://myuke.com

JFS

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by JFS » Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:22 pm

Is Tracy Caldwell Dyson a relative of Dr. Freeman Dyson ???

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Rms » Mon Nov 15, 2010 4:39 pm

The object close to Tracy's arm seems to be Saturn.

Rainbow.cat

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Rainbow.cat » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:02 pm

By turning my map of Samargatha (Mt. Everest) upside down, I can imagine that the upper left window reveals the mountain seen from the north with two branches of the Rongbok Glacier. Good imagination, huh?

heidiae

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by heidiae » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:13 pm

Central America and the Gulf of Mexico

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by All Day Baby » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:41 pm

(My first post. Yay!) It looks like the Pacific + Mexico + the Gulf of Mexico in the cupola window to me.

Me2

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Me2 » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:47 pm

I have a horrible fear of heights and confined spaces.

I would probably throw up on those windows.

Also would be worried about space junk punching a hole in the station.

How those astronuts thrive in that forbidding environment is beyond me.

DavidL

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by DavidL » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:55 pm

Looks like the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula.

siware

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by siware » Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:55 pm

I reckon its the Gulf of Mexico

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by emc » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:24 pm

Dr. Tracy Caldwell Dyson’s gaze makes me wonder what she might be thinking… probably astronaut stuff! 8-)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-pw7mZ6 ... re=related[/youtube]
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timeToLose

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by timeToLose » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:31 pm

As noted in a previous post, the Exif metadata from the JPEG file says that the picture was taken september the 11th at 18:38:35. Assuming that the timezone used for devices aboard the ISS (even for the cameras ?) is UTC, the part of the planet illuminated by the sun at that time was : pacific ocean, both americas and northern atlantic ocean. (see here : http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/E ... 2018:38:35)

I think I'll give a try to compute the position with Stellarium or something, using appropriate TLE dataset...

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by bystander » Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:53 pm

There is a wonderful poem, Blue, by Stuart Atkinson inspired by today's APOD image posted on Universe Today.

Stunning Image, Heartfelt Poetry Could Become Icons of Space Age
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

Pallazzo

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Pallazzo » Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:08 pm

The cloud system in the lower window appears to be a frontal system with what looks like a counter-clockwise rotation. That suggests Northern hemisphere.
It does make sense that the only ocean that could cover so wide a field of view should be the Pacific.
Late September suggests an equinox, so we can't make any guesses about darkness in Polar regions.
The darkness in the clouds at the top left horizon might be masking a land mass, or might be darkened by pollution. Either of those could point to China... But that leaves me searching for the Aleutians behind Dr. Dyson's ulna.
It's clearly near noon where she is, and that makes sense for the pacific with the camera timing only if the pic was taken with a handheld camera whose clock was set in the Eastern Timezone rather than zulu time. Maybe someone's Canon that was set near launch time... in Florida.

Since we can see Dr. Dyson, the interior of the cupola must be dimly lit. I'd assert that the spire of gas jetting off the top of the Earth is actually a dim reflection of something onboard the station.
Or perhaps the plume of smoke coming from Santa's workshop, where they're making all the toys.

Balz Switzerland

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Balz Switzerland » Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:42 pm

If the timestamp is right (UTC), it must be over the pacific ocean!

Sub-Satel:Lon = 226°55'43" Lat = -12°49'28" Height = 351.86 km
(that's about 800 miles east of Tahiti, and from this viewpoint, no continent is to see)

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Tatianajo » Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:51 pm

I would guess it is the Pacific Ocean but really have no clue. It does however remind me of the movie First Contact when Captain Picard is being held at phaser point in the Observatory on the Starship Enterprise, you could see the Earth in the background. I remember thinking when watching that scene, "It sure would be cool to have the technology and be able to be in a space ship gazing at Earth from space in my life time." I was thrilled to see today's APOD and even more thrilled to see a female astronaut in the picture. Awesome! :D

StarryEyeGuy

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by StarryEyeGuy » Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:04 pm

Latitude 11 degrees, 45 minutes South
Longitude 132 degrees, 15 minutes West
Altitude 351.4 km, ascending

Wherever it is, I'd love to see that view myself one of these days... :mrgreen:

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by BMAONE23 » Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:22 pm

I personally don't see more than Blue Ocean and White/Gray cloud tops
But what a view it is

LLoeppke

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by LLoeppke » Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:50 pm

It's the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea with the Caspian Sea visible--Eastern Europe in the upper windows.

juan

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by juan » Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:55 pm

gulf of mexico in round window

Colds7ream

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Colds7ream » Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:57 pm

Hi folks, one Wikipedian here - do we know what the NASA image ID for this image is, please? Thanks in advance!

brrcleo10

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by brrcleo10 » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:03 pm

It has to be the Pacific just off the coast of California. That's her home

MikeTheGreat

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by MikeTheGreat » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:20 pm

Directly above my house.

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Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Greyhawk » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:29 pm

This kind of image makes me sad that we will soon be back in the 1960's. Who would have dreamed that US astronauts would have to hitch a ride on soviet rockets because they cant get a person in orbit any more :(

Guest

Re: APOD: Home from Above (2010 Nov 15)

Post by Guest » Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:33 pm

The Water "PART".

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