On Thursday in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, astrophotographer John Stetson and his son Peter observed a very rare event--a sunspot-space station conjunction:

Image
© John Stetson
On Thursday in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, astrophotographer John Stetson and his son Peter observed a very rare event--a sunspot-space station conjunction:
"We knew when to look thanks to a prediction from CalSky," says Stetson. "The International Space Station transited the solar disk in only 0.62 seconds. We managed to catch the station's silhouette just as it was passing sunspot 1057." Stetson has been photographing solar transits for years; he ranks this one as "the best yet."

As far as we know, this is the first time the ISS has been observed in conjunction with a big sunspot. Next up: How about a sunspot-space station eclipse? It is possible to anticipate such an event because CalSky shows sunspots in their transit prediction graphics. Astrophotographers, check the web site for opportunities.

More images: from Rogerio Marcon of Campinas-SP-Brasil; from Wouter Verhesen of Sittard. The Netherlands; from Alcaria Rego of Almada, Portugal; from Andy Devey of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK; from John C McConnell of Maghaberry Northern Ireland; from Gianfranco Meregalli of Milano Italy; from Monika Landy-Gyebnar of Veszprem, Hungary