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Credit & Copyright: Mehmet Erguën
Explanation:
That's no sunspot.
It's the
International Space Station (ISS)
caught passing in front of the Sun.
Sunspots, individually, have a dark central
umbra,
a lighter surrounding
penumbra, and
no Dragon capsules attached.
By contrast, the ISS is a complex and multi-spired mechanism,
one of the largest and most
complicated spacecraft ever created by
humanity.
Also, sunspots circle the
Sun,
whereas the ISS orbits the
Earth.
Transiting the Sun is not very unusual for the
ISS, which orbits the Earth about every 90 minutes,
but getting one's location, timing and equipment just right for a
great image is rare.
The featured picture combined three images all taken from the
same location and at nearly the same time.
One image -- overexposed -- captured the faint
prominences seen across the top of the Sun,
a second image -- underexposed -- captured the complex texture of the
Sun's chromosphere,
while the third image -- the hardest to get -- captured the space station as it
shot across
the Sun in a fraction of a second.
Close inspection of the space station's
silhouette even reveals a docked
Dragon Crew capsule.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: ISS - Sun
Publications with words: ISS - Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2024 February 19 Á Looking Sideways from the Parker Solar Probe
- Circling the Sun
- APOD: 2023 December 11 Á Solar Minimum versus Solar Maximum
- APOD: 2023 November 19 Á Space Station, Solar Prominences, Sun
- APOD: 2023 October 25 Á Gone in 60 Seconds: A Green Flash Sunset
- Circular Sun Halo
- APOD: 2023 August 1 Á Monster Solar Prominence