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Astrophoto: Space Station on [sort of] the Moon
universetoday.com ^ | January 14, 2014 | Nancy Atkinson on

Posted on 01/14/2014 3:46:09 PM PST by BenLurkin

. Juan Gonzalez-Alicea of Sociedad de Astronomia del Caribe in Puerto Rico captured this great image of the International Space Station crossing in front of the crescent Moon on Dec. 6, 2013. He used a Canon 7D with a 300 mm lens, and actually got a fair amount of detail.

(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography
KEYWORDS:

The International Space Station captured as it passed in front of the Moon on Dec. 6, 2013, as seen from Puerto Rico. Credit and copyright: Juan Gonzalez-Alicea.
1 posted on 01/14/2014 3:46:09 PM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin
Wow! Great shot!

Speaking as a photographer who still thinks according to 80's technology (if that makes any sense)that photo would have been very difficult to get.

2 posted on 01/14/2014 3:51:01 PM PST by mitch5501 ("make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never fall")
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To: mitch5501
Speaking as a photographer who still thinks according to 80's technology (if that makes any sense)that photo would have been very difficult to get.

Interesting question. A 300mm lens and something as bright as the moon (short exposure) would still have been an easy target back in the 80s. But knowing where to take the picture from on the earth's surface wouldn't have been easily done back in those days. Back in those days satellite orbital elements could be ordered and received by mail, but PCs and software to use the elements weren't available until the very late 80s.
3 posted on 01/14/2014 3:57:52 PM PST by plsvn
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To: BenLurkin
That's quite an accomplishment.

According to this reference, it takes the ISS about 1.65 seconds to traverse the face of the Moon (or the Sun, both of which are the same angular size when viewed from Earth's surface).

I like the way the angle of the sun is such that both the Moon and the ISS are strongly illuminated.

4 posted on 01/14/2014 4:05:53 PM PST by Steely Tom (If the Constitution can be a living document, I guess a corporation can be a person.)
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To: BenLurkin
Here's some other amateur photos of the Space Station...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

As the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis was approaching the International Space Station on Saturday evening, February 9, 350 kilometres above the Earth, amateur astronomer Libor Šmíd was standing in the garden of his house in Plzeň, western Bohemia, with his camera and telescope ready. He had less than four minutes to take a series of photos of the docking manoeuvre – that is how long it took the International Space Station with the approaching shuttle to fly over sky above Plzeň before it disappeared over the horizon. Libor Šmíd says that timing is crucial in this kind of photography.

“What is unique about the photographs is that I managed to capture the very moment the Atlantis space shuttle approached the International Space Station. The manoeuvre is very brief – first the shuttle is too far, and after the rendezvous the shuttle is difficult to distinguish from the space station itself.”

The Czech Astronomical Society, associating both professional and amateur astronomers, voted Mr Šmíd’s photos the winner of the February Photo of the Month contest. I asked Marcel Bělík, an astronomer at the Úpice observatory in eastern Bohemia and a member of the photo contest jury, what is so unique about the Atlantis manoeuvre photos.

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/amateur-astronomer-takes-unique-photos-of-us-space-shuttle-atlantis

5 posted on 01/14/2014 4:12:39 PM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: BenLurkin

And, thanks to Flickr for enabling us to see it in incredible detail at an astounding 0.5 megapixels.

Next week, a tight zoom on some craters in the Sea of Tranquility, rendered on a postage stamp.


6 posted on 01/14/2014 4:17:41 PM PST by FLAMING DEATH (I'm not racist - I hate Biden too!)
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To: ETL
Here's the one with the Shuttle that he mentions in my earlier post...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

See "Přílet raketoplánu k ISS"
http://home.zcu.cz/~smid/satelity/satelity.htm

7 posted on 01/14/2014 4:19:02 PM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: BenLurkin
And here's one I took myself with a $25 cellphone camera...

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

LOL.

8 posted on 01/14/2014 4:22:49 PM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: BenLurkin

Good thing we don’t have those pesky space shuttles to block the view anymore. s/


9 posted on 01/14/2014 4:24:21 PM PST by rktman (Under my plan(scheme), the price of EVERYTHING will necessarily skyrocket! Period.)
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To: BenLurkin

La nave Enterprise de la FUP es silueteada por el Sol.

10 posted on 01/14/2014 4:24:40 PM PST by mikrofon (Timing is Everything ;)
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To: ETL
I have the 308340823043608934508 X zoom on mine: Not that great. Can't see the foundry marks on the rivets.
11 posted on 01/14/2014 4:31:32 PM PST by FLAMING DEATH (I'm not racist - I hate Biden too!)
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To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; married21; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; ...

Thanks BenLurkin, extra to APoD.


12 posted on 01/14/2014 4:44:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv (http://www.freerepublic.com/~mestamachine/)
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To: FLAMING DEATH

What are those solid, hinged outside hatches over each window for? They expecting hail?

LOL.


13 posted on 01/14/2014 5:11:21 PM PST by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: Talisker

There are many dangerous objects floating around in space (at speeds of 30,000 or so miles per hour), including space junk and micro-meteorites.


14 posted on 01/14/2014 6:25:05 PM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: BenLurkin

Bttt


15 posted on 01/14/2014 7:35:16 PM PST by ADemocratNoMore (Jeepers, Freepers, where'd 'ya get those sleepers?. Pj people, exposing old media's lies.)
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To: ETL

It may sound strange, but I had a friend who invented a wierd cannon. It could shoot “mini objects” such as paint chips, micro-rocks, etc. at 40,000mph to test the integrity of the Space Shuttle “windshield” in a collision.

Look up the velocity of a standard .50cal bullet. Multiply that out to miles per hour, then you’ll go. . .like, wow. . ., a paint chip??? DANG!!!!!!!


16 posted on 01/14/2014 8:55:44 PM PST by HippyLoggerBiker (Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.)
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