Explanation:
Skywatchers
throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia,
were treated to the first eclipse of the new year on January 4, a
partial
eclipse of the Sun.
But traveling to the area around Muscat, capital city of Oman,
photographer Thierry Legault planned to simultaneously record
two eclipses on that date,
calculating from that position,
for a brief moment, both the Moon and the International Space
Station could be seen in
silhouette, crossing the Sun.
His sharp, 1/5000th second exposure
is shown here, capturing
planet Earth's
two largest satellites against the bright solar disk.
As the partial solar
eclipse unfolded,
the space station (above and left
of center) zipped across the scene in less than 1 second,
about 500 kilometers from the photographer's telescope and camera.
Of course, the Moon was 400 thousand kilometers away.
Complete with sunspots,
the Sun was 150 million kilometers distant.
Best Astronomy Images:
APOD Editor to speak in Philadelphia
tonight and NYC Friday
