By Jessica Stewart on July 8, 2024
The ISS transiting the sun can take only a few seconds, which makes this image all the more impressive!
Portuguese astrophotographer Miguel Claro has once again captured the public’s imagination with his magical imagery. This time, he took a detailed image of the International Space Station (ISS) as it transited the Sun. Traveling at an average speed of 17,500 miles per hour, the space station only takes a few seconds to move across the Sun. This makes the clarity of Claro’s image all the more impressive.
“The fact that I could achieve this level of detail without stacking images, which is the typical technique used for solar imaging, but for the ISS, it is not possible to stack, so I developed a different processing method which worked pretty well, and I was surprised and very happy with the results,” Claro tells My Modern Met of his favorite part of this image.
Claro’s work in solar photography often involves creating time lapses to show our star’s motion. So, it is a special achievement for him to be able to create a single frame that captures this sense of motion. Many factors need to come together in order to have a clear shot of the Sun, from clear weather to a stable atmosphere, but with everything lined up and the right equipment in hand, Claro executed his vision.
“I hope that this image can give emotions that can transmit the beauty of the universe, and in this case, how spectacular the Sun is,” shares Claro. “But also our capacity to make huge achievements as humanity: work in teams, put politics aside, and build the largest manmade structure in space, the International Space Station, capable of carrying on board astronauts permanently, an incredible artificial satellite orbiting our planet.” […]
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