APOD: Endeavour's Starry Night (2011 Jun 02)

[jskocher]

Does it strike anyone else that the "city lights" seem a lot closer than 217 miles away?

(No, I'm not saying that the photo is faked, but I am a bit perplexed)

[Chris Peterson]

Does it strike anyone else that the "city lights" seem a lot closer than 217 miles away?

(No, I'm not saying that the photo is faked, but I am a bit perplexed)

Keep in mind that there's a tendency to misjudge dimension on images made from low Earth orbit. The horizon is only about 2000 km away; from the ISS you couldn't see coast-to-coast over the U.S., for instance. In addition, nearly the entire optical path length is largely airless, so you are only looking at objects on the ground through a few miles of atmosphere.

[alter-ego]

FYI, the view is looking to the southwest, looking backward in the orbit. If the photograph time is correct and UT, I believe the shuttle is located somewhere between Vietnam and Hong Kong. What I'm sure of is the star field. To the lower left is the Southern Cross & Coal Sack near the horizon. The fuzzy spot left of the shuttle and 45°up from Crux is Omega Centauri.

[Aescens]

Does anyone know how long the exposure was for this picture?

Thanks.

[Case]

Does anyone know how long the exposure was for this picture?

The EXIF data says 3 secs.
(Online Exif viewer)

[Chris Peterson]

Does anyone know how long the exposure was for this picture?

The image was made with a Nikon D3S, a 3-second exposure at ISO 25600, using a 20mm lens at f/2.8.

[NoelC]

Hands down, THE best image I've ever seen taken from space, and that's saying a lot!

BRAVO!

-Noel

[Star*Hopper]

"Lesson number one, Giordano Bruno. When the Sun is up in the sky, you don't see any stars."

You can with a telescope.
And even with the naked eye, for that matter.....but only one good long look is allowed.

\just sayin'...

[jessy27]

islader2,
Are you telling me the earth isn't flat?