A photographer for NASA was able to capture an image of the International Space Station (ISS) just as it was making its way in front of the sun this month.
Joel Kowsky, a lensman working for the American space agency, was in Newbury Park, California to take a photograph of the ISS just when it was about to make a transit in front of the sun on Dec. 17.
The orbital facility was scheduled to cross the face of the massive star at a speed of about 18,000 miles per hour (28,968 kilometers per hour).
Photographing A Solar Transit
Kowsky was able to capture several photos of the event, 10 of which combined to make a single composite view of the ISS. The image shows the space station — considered to be the largest manmade structure ever to be built in space — transiting across the sun.
Capturing a photo of such solar transits is no small feat since it takes a considerable amount of time to plan and actually pull off.
The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 205 to 270 miles (330 to 435 kilometers) that it would be very difficult to see it directly without the help of a high-powered telescope at times.
There is also the challenge of knowing where the space station will be, relative to Earth and at what time. Stargazers often use a tracker to find out the location of the ISS.
How To Spot The Space Station Up In The Sky
Space.com offers ISS fans the use of its Satellite Tracker so that they'll know where orbital satellites, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Tiangong-1, NOAA-15, Landsat-8, and the ISS, are located in the sky. The tracker widget was developed by folks at N2YO.com.
NASA also has its own ISS tracker in the form of the "Spot the Space Station" website. With this, users can just key in their city or town and the site will show the space station's path relative to the address.
The website also provides alerts to let ISS fans know when and where to look when the space station passes by their area.
While it's fun to hunt for the ISS in the sky, experts advise space station watchers not to look at it directly during daytime as it could damage the eyes severely.
Astronomers and professional photographers, such as Kowsky, typically use special filters to protect their eyes when they observe objects near the sun.
