Astrophoto: Space Station Flies Through the Moon!

By Nancy Atkinson - April 17, 2013 at 2:53 PM UTC | Observing
8655614387_90c9ba5eaa_z.jpg

What a great image! Astrophotographer

Dave Walker

combined seven 30-second shots of the ISS as it cuts through the sky, and it appears to slice right through the Moon! Dave used a a Canon 600D, Samyang 8mm fish-eye lens, and Vixen Polarie.

Now through the end of April provides some great sighting opportunities in the northern hemisphere for seeing the International Space Station as it flies overhead -- and over your backyard! Some evenings there are even two passes. See below for another great panorama of an ISS pass, as well as information on how to find out when you can see it. It's always an amazing sight!

[caption id="attachment_101530" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

A view of the International Space Station over St. Pölten, Austria on April 15, 2013. A panorama of 13 single shots, each with 25 sec. exposure-time. Credit and copyright: Ma Brau via Flickr. [/caption]

NASA has a

Skywatch

page where you can find your specific city to look for satellite sighting info.

Spaceweather.com,

has a

Satellite Tracker Tool

. Just put in your zip code (good for the US and Canada) to find out what satellites will be flying over your house.

Heaven's Above

also has a city search, but also you can input your exact latitude and longitude for exact sighting information, helpful if you live out in the country.

Want to get your astrophoto featured on Universe Today? Join our Flickr group or send us your images by email (this means you're giving us permission to post them). Please explain what's in the picture, when you took it, the equipment you used, etc.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com