APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Post Reply
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5344
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Contact:

APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by APOD Robot » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:05 am

Image Moon over ISS

Explanation: Completing one orbit of our fair planet in 90 minutes the International Space Station can easily be spotted by eye as a very bright star moving through the night sky. Have you seen it? The next time you do, you will have recognized the location of over 20 years of continuous human presence in space. In fact, the Expedition 1 crew to the ISS docked with the orbital outpost some 400 kilometers above the Earth on November 2, 2000. No telescope is required to spot the ISS flashing through the night. But this telescopic field of view does reveal remarkable details of the space station captured as it transited the waning gibbous moon on November 3, just one day after the space age milestone. The well-timed telescopic snapshot also contains the location of another inspirational human achievement. About 400,000 kilometers away, the Apollo 11 landing site on the dark, smooth lunar Sea of Tranquility is to the right of the ISS silhouette.

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13370
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by Ann » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:10 am

Yeah, well... Moon over ISS, ISS over the Moon - what's the difference?

It's all just free fall in curved space anyway. :wink:

Ann
Color Commentator

BDanielMayfield
Don't bring me down
Posts: 2524
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:24 am
AKA: Bruce
Location: East Idaho

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by BDanielMayfield » Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:39 am

Interesting geometry here. We’re seeing an unlit side of ISS in front of a sunlit part of the Moon. ISS must have been inside the Earth’s shadow at the time.
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18105
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by Chris Peterson » Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:15 pm

BDanielMayfield wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:39 am Interesting geometry here. We’re seeing an unlit side of ISS in front of a sunlit part of the Moon. ISS must have been inside the Earth’s shadow at the time.
The Moon just three days past full, and imaged near midnight. No way that the ISS could be anywhere else than in shadow.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
orin stepanek
Plutopian
Posts: 8200
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: Nebraska

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by orin stepanek » Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:23 pm

ISSlunartransit110320closeup1024.jpg

Neat photo of ISS passing over Luna! Think I'll use it as a wallpaper! :wink:
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

WSODONNELL2
Asternaut
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2020 2:32 pm

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by WSODONNELL2 » Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:54 pm

"Oh Lord, your sea is so great, and my boat is so small"
Fisherman's prayer, origin obscure.

User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by MarkBour » Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:27 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:15 pm
BDanielMayfield wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:39 am Interesting geometry here. We’re seeing an unlit side of ISS in front of a sunlit part of the Moon. ISS must have been inside the Earth’s shadow at the time.
The Moon just three days past full, and imaged near midnight. No way that the ISS could be anywhere else than in shadow.
So, would that mean that the photographer had no way to track the ISS visually as it approached conjunction with the Moon? Would Derek Demeter have just aimed the shot and used sufficiently precise data from some source to know when this event would happen? Would he have had to have known this down to a matter of seconds? Maybe a series of shots were taken in rapid fire around the moment of the transit? The high resolution image is wonderfully detailed in its rendering of the space station shape, I guess as you are both saying, there's no light bouncing off of it, it's all a silhouette!
Mark Goldfain

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18105
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by Chris Peterson » Fri Nov 06, 2020 9:49 pm

MarkBour wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:27 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 2:15 pm
BDanielMayfield wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 5:39 am Interesting geometry here. We’re seeing an unlit side of ISS in front of a sunlit part of the Moon. ISS must have been inside the Earth’s shadow at the time.
The Moon just three days past full, and imaged near midnight. No way that the ISS could be anywhere else than in shadow.
So, would that mean that the photographer had no way to track the ISS visually as it approached conjunction with the Moon? Would Derek Demeter have just aimed the shot and used sufficiently precise data from some source to know when this event would happen? Would he have had to have known this down to a matter of seconds? Maybe a series of shots were taken in rapid fire around the moment of the transit? The high resolution image is wonderfully detailed in its rendering of the space station shape, I guess as you are both saying, there's no light bouncing off of it, it's all a silhouette!
Right, I don't think it would be visible. But the orbit is very well characterized, so capturing it blind shouldn't be a big deal with an accurate time source (like GPS). I posted a capture I made earlier this year. This was around sunset, and moonrise, so the ISS was much farther away than in today's image. But you can clearly see what it looks like in front of the Moon when it is in sunlight. Brighter than the Moon surface, in fact.
_
20200604_stack.jpg
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
MarkBour
Subtle Signal
Posts: 1377
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
Location: Illinois, USA

Re: APOD: Moon over ISS (2020 Nov 06)

Post by MarkBour » Fri Nov 06, 2020 11:02 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 9:49 pm I posted a capture I made earlier this year. This was around sunset, and moonrise, so the ISS was much farther away than in today's image. But you can clearly see what it looks like in front of the Moon when it is in sunlight. Brighter than the Moon surface, in fact.
_
20200604_stack.jpg
Thanks, I always appreciate these explanations and examples.

This one is very nice. And I really like the video you made of some of the frames, posted at that link on cloudbait.com.
Mark Goldfain

Post Reply