Using Heavens-Above.com to calculate the intersection, Israel-based astrophotographer Gadi Eidelheit was able to capture the International Space Station transiting the moon on December 28th, 2014. Wow, does it cross quickly. From The Venus Transit, Eidelheit writes:
For this pass I saw that the path is very near the moon and even crossing it, but accuracy is very important. The moon is not that far from Earth even a change of 1km in the observer’s location will give a slightly different path which can miss the moon…
What I did was to go to the site settings and switch my location to many small towns nearby. With some trial and error I found out that I need to be some 6km south from my house in a small village named Ganot.
The video above is the result of his calculations, and his set up in Ganot, Israel with three different cameras. Watch it full screen in 1080HD.
ISS is the third brightest object in the sky and can be seen without equipment if given the right conditions. To find out when the station might pass by your skies, visit Heavens-Above, calsky.com, ISS.Astroviewer.net, and NASA’s SpotTheStation.
Related: Thierry Legault’s incredible photo of a full moon with ISS (2010):
Related videos include a full moon rising in real time, Moon Saturn Occultation, and Further Up Yonder: A Message From ISS To All Humankind.
via Laughing Squid
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