Today's Image

ISS photobombs a lightning storm

See the streak of the International Space Station (ISS) at the top of the image? The short, vertical streak toward the middle looks like an ordinary meteor. Photo by Susan Gies Jensen.

Susan Gies Jensen in Odessa, Washington posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook on July 21, 2017. She wrote:

A dramatic electrical storm brought lightning to the area around 1 a.m. Wednesday, July 20, far off to the north of my place. I took advantage of this opportunity to create a timelapse video with the stills I captured [see video below].

When I reviewed each image, I was surprised that I also caught the International Space Station. It was traveling in the same direction as the storm!

The NASA notification was spot-on: “Thu Jul 20 1:35 AM, Visible: 4 min, Max Height: 43°, Appears: 30° above WNW, Disappears: 11° above ENE”.

Thank you, Susan!

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Posted 
July 24, 2017
 in 
Today's Image

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