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It was harder than usual this weekend to take in the full effect of the annual Perseid meteor shower, due to the glare from a full moon, but NASA astronaut Ron Garan didn't have that problem when he went meteor-watching from the International Space Station on Saturday. From Garan's Twitpic gallery, here's a rare picture of a Perseid shooting star as seen from above.
The brownish-greenish arc above the edge of Earth's disk is caused by a phenomenon known as nightglow, primarily created by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. You can also see a sliver of one of the space station's solar arrays on the right edge of the picture. As Discovery News' Ian O'Neill notes, the meteor streak itself doesn't look much different from what you'd see on Earth, except that you're looking at it from above rather than from below.
Garan has had lots of experience taking pictures from space during his four and a half months on the station, and you can see his handiwork in the Twitpic gallery as well as his own website, Fragile Oasis. For this photo, he suggests that he got some advice on camera settings from his son, Jake Garan. We're going to miss Ron's shooting when he returns to Earth on Sept. 8 aboard a Russian Soyuz craft, but if history is any guide, there'll be other space photographers to take his place on the station.
More about the Perseids and space photography:
- Skywatchers capture moonstruck meteor views
- More Perseid pictures from SpaceWeather.com
- Familiar sights from alien heights
- Space Gallery: Month in Space Pictures
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also add me to your Google+ circle, and check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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Great shot. I wish I were up on the ISS if only for a day. Oh well, at some point in the future, I'll get there.
Hmm...I wonder if the meteor showers make the ISS crew nervous.
...and if that had hit the ISS??? Takes a lot of guts to be up there. Supermen all...
I concur. Great dudes, and dudettes, all.
Cool pic Ron! I wonder how big the chunk in the picture is?
That must have hurt like hell.
Kool pic. What are the other two lighs in the photo? A white one between 11:00 and 12:00 and a pale blue one between 2:00 and 3:00 in relation to the meteorite.
Wonder Woman in the white. Superman in the blue. Faster than a speeding bullet!
Middle of the screen should be the moon and the blue on the right would be the sunrise/set depending on the orientation of the ISS
Actually, the middle spot is rather a star, or a planet. And the blue on the right is most likely the moon.
Don't forget this was taken in a VERY dark environment, the ISO is boost up as you can see many grains (and colored pixel grain). Probably a 200mm lens.
PS : I take photos at night with a DSLR.
I have looked up at official data from NASA :
The spot in the middle is the star Arcturus from the Bootes constellation.
I requested what the bright light on the right really is, but it's almost sure it is the Moon (or else it'll be the Sun).
I saw that exact same one!
It would be interesting to know what the mostly cloud covered terrain is in the background.
I saw a really bright exploder much like that early Saturday morning to the East of me mere minutes before ISS passed overhead. It lit up the whole sky for a moment, and left a visible streak suspended in the air for about 10 seconds before it faded away.
I found out elsewhere that this was over Northern China with Mars above the horizon.
Thanks. NASA. It is an awesome pic.
I remember getting a shot of a lightning strike and how excited I was when I KNEW I'd got the shot... I cant imagine how it feels to know you captured a shot like this!!!
There is enough science in that ONE single shot for a grads students entire semester!!.....nice shot...do tell what chemical reactions exactly are the cause of the brownish/grenish arcs?....yea, If my breaks let me head to THAT observation lounge for a quick toky, I'd be late getting back to work EVERY TIME!!....they'd be constantly sending out the search team to find me!!...and I'd be constantly learning new tricks to duck em!! I hope they let ron snap as many pics as he possibly can in the next couple of weeks....being that it is science everyone can relate to in some way or another, it has gotta be a good publicity thing, and lordy knows we need all the good vibes we can get lest the budgie-teers cut it and everthng else 'cept their own perks..........
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket. Save it for a rainy day...
God was at work, and he caught just a glems of it. Keep looking up to God, u will see more.
Sory could you clarify which God there are so many I get confused.
In other news, a fireman catches Jupiter, and a cowboy caught Pluto. Of course, neither of these are as big as a star. So the astronaut wins.
They all won bcos each of them had a divine opportunity to observe God's scraps and waste littering our galaxy. They only caught the mysteries God exposed to them. Tanx 4 sharing those pics with us. Better luck next time to catch 4rm above the SUN crashing onto MARS, HOW SPECTACULAR THAT WILL BE
Not likely the moon at all. The photo is taken only about 125 miles from the earths surface. Look how close the cloud cover is in the photo.
Add a little bit there Craig. The ISS is today 241 miles / 387 km (average) above the Earth's surface.
Not likely the moon at all. The photo is taken only about 125 miles from the earths surface. Look how close the cloud cover is in the photo.
i think that is so beautiful that would make a beautiful wall picture , i have a friend that still think they haven't been to the moon, but she also think we are not alone in this universe
Then she would be half right.
Being half dumb doesn't really make you brighter!
Awesome! In our lifetime we will be able to visit a hotel in space and take our HD vids!