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Blogs > loveisamyth > loveisamyth, stars are forever


loveisamyth 68M
849 posts
9/2/2015 6:12 am

Last Read:
9/3/2015 12:33 pm
SPACE STATION TRANSITS A PROMINENCE
In recent years, astrophotographers have become increasingly adept at catching the International Space Station during split-second transits of the sun. The winged form of the behemoth spaceship looks beautiful when backlit by fiery plasma, and on more than one occasion it has been seen in conjunction with active sunspots. Now, for perhaps the first time, Thierry Legault of Paris, France, has captured the silhouette of the ISS passing in front of a solar prominence.



"This was no accident," says Legault. "Using Calsky to predict the circumstances of the transit, I positioned my telescope 1 mile north of the central transit line so that the ISS would pass directly between me and the prominence."

His pinpoint preparations worked, and he captured more than 30 video frames of the ISS zooming across the face of the sun. The complete crossing may be seen on utube.

Solar observers are paying extra attention to prominences this week because that is almost the only thing to see. With only a few small sunspots dotting the solar disk, the face of the sun is nearly featureless. Plumes of plasma rising over the sun's limb are the photo-op du jure, even better when a spaceship joins the show.
ALWAYS PROPERLY PROTECT YOUR EYES FROM THE SUN!

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