APOD: A Live View from the ISS (2014 May 14)

[APOD Robot]

A Live View from the International Space Station

Explanation: If you were floating above the Earth right now, this is what you might see. Two weeks ago, the robotic SpaceX Dragon capsule that delivered supplies to the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS) also delivered High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) cameras that take and transmit live views of Earth. Pictured above, when working, is the live video feed that switches between four cameras, each pointed differently. Watch white clouds, tan land, and blue oceans drift by. The above video will appear black when it is nighttime on the Earth below, but the space station's rapid 90-minute orbit compresses this dark time into only 45 minutes. The present location of the ISS above the Earth can be found on the web. If the video appears gray, this indicates that the view is either being switched between cameras, or communications with the ISS is temporarily unavailable. As the HDEV project continues, video quality will be monitored to assess the effects of high energy radiation, which types of cameras work best, and which Earth views are the most popular. Although this feed will eventually be terminated, lessons learned will enable better cameras to be deployed to the ISS in the future, likely returning even more interesting live feeds.

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[FLPhotoCatcher]

The first sentence starts, "If were floating above the Earth..." It should be as it is shown at the top of this discussion page: "If you were floating above the Earth..." I'm sure it will be fixed soon.

[firstmagnitude]

Grey screen means the system is down.

[Markus Schwarz]

I really like the idea Unfortunately, all I have seen so far is the gray screen. Hope to see some real pictures soon!

[Boomer12k]

Well....HOPEFULLY....I would see more than a blank, grey screen.....Yawn...


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[RedFishBlueFish]

if the video appears gray

Well. It not only "appears" gray, but is grey.

Hopefully this will be sorted, as is a nice thought.

[Indigo_Sunrise]

There will eventually be video in the video, right?
I love the line, (emphasis added) - "Pictured above, when working, is the live video feed...." At least it's a disclaimer, of sorts.
Hopefully it'll get straightened out and become viewable soon.

Awesome idea, though!

[BDanielMayfield]

I will testify that it actually did show something other than grey in the beginning, after the eleventh hour began, at the start of today's run. I saw mostly the tops of white clouds rolling by, and waters underneath the expanisive clouds, but before dry land could appear uniform grayness prevailed.

Bruce

[zbvhs]

Great idea when/if it works. Back in the early shuttle days during crew sleep periods, ground controllers would feed down-links from the payload bay cameras to the NASA TV Network for public viewing. You could watch for six or eight hours if you wanted. There was always something to see: thunderstorms and city lights at night, coastlines and jet contrails during the day time passes. I remember seeing a big meteor burst into a shower of smaller pieces over Libya or thereabouts. The spacecraft was over Egypt with the camera view looking west toward Libya and Algeria. If the controllers cut out the night-side portions of the HD coverage, they'll be missing half the fun of it all.

[Nitpicker]

I'm watching it fly eastward over North America right now, looking backwards with a Full Moon setting in the background. Too cool.

[isoparix]

Good while it lasted! It would be very useful to see a Long/Lat grid overlaid on the view; and the current co-ordinates of the ISS posted on the image. Thanks

[Guest]

Good while it lasted! It would be very useful to see a Long/Lat grid overlaid on the view; and the current co-ordinates of the ISS posted on the image. Thanks

This site shows the coordinates of the ISS as it travels. Earlier today, the world map showed the orbital track and an icon of the ISS moving along it. I guess this is all still a work in progress.

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/

[geckzilla]

Yeah, use the location website to see if the ISS is in Earth's shadow. It takes 45 minutes to get to the light once that happens. That's why so often it is "not working" but really even with it is black if you watch carefully at best resolution you can catch little white specks. I presume those are cosmic rays.

[firstmagnitude]

Is this the first time there is no picture on APOD? Is blackness considered a "picture of the day?"

[owlice]

It helps to read the explanation.

[BillBixby]

Is this the first time there is no picture on APOD? Is blackness considered a "picture of the day?"

What I determined:

The Picture is a LIVE, streaming, current view of the Earth. It is being broadcast from the ISS. There will eventually be video in the video, right? No, this is not a recording - it is live, give or take a few broadcast seconds.

If You are seeing a lighted picture if the Earth, then the ISS is over a daylight section of our planet.

If You are seeing a dark picture if the Earth, then the ISS is over a night-time section of our planet. Look for city lights, lightning storms, meteorite hits and other fun things which others may not notice. Quoting zbvhs "If the controllers cut out the night-side portions of the HD coverage, they'll be missing half the fun of it all."

If You are seeing GRAY, the ISS transmitters are not being received by earthbound receptors, most likely due to location of the ISS. Go freshen your drink and return to watch the picture show. If there is one thing changing quickly, it is the location of the ISS. The pic will not stay gray very long.

[Cousin Ricky]

Great! Now all I need is some Internet service that delivers the bandwidth the ISP has shamelessly promised us for years.

[BillBixby]

Reading the explanation was no problem. It took me some time to understand it so I re-worded it to fit my dense mind . Then I went back to the pretty view being transmitted. Night sky. I looked for city lights and other goodies. I thought I found some lights. They didn't move. I did discover how much white dust is on my monitor screen . Dark picture when you clean the 'lights' off the screen. I may not be as much a creature of the night as I might wish.

(edited to remove a quote)

[Boomer12k]

OK, There it is now!!! Awesome!!!!



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[rtorlas@gmail.com]

On http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ which is reached from the APOD, what are the leading and following rockets, cans, whatever, on the track. BTW, getting ready to hit Chile.

[geckzilla]

On http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ which is reached from the APOD, what are the leading and following rockets, cans, whatever, on the track. BTW, getting ready to hit Chile.

The one that says +1.5 is where it will be in 90 minutes and the one that says -1.5 is where it was 90 minutes ago.

[rtorlas@gmail.com]

On http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ which is reached from the APOD, what are the leading and following rockets, cans, whatever, on the track. BTW, getting ready to hit Chile.

The one that says +1.5 is where it will be in 90 minutes and the one that says -1.5 is where it was 90 minutes ago.

Since a full orbit is 90 minutes, I doubt that. However, now that I have zoomed in, I see the +/- 1,5h, but still don't know what the h indicates.

[rtorlas@gmail.com]

On http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ which is reached from the APOD, what are the leading and following rockets, cans, whatever, on the track. BTW, getting ready to hit Chile.

The one that says +1.5 is where it will be in 90 minutes and the one that says -1.5 is where it was 90 minutes ago.

Since a full orbit is 90 minutes, I doubt that. However, now that I have zoomed in, I see the +/- 1,5h, but still don't know what the h indicates.

Never mind. I understand now. -1,5h is where it was on the last orbit and +1,5h is where it will be on the next orbit. Thank you.

[Nitpicker]

On http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/HDEV/ which is reached from the APOD, what are the leading and following rockets, cans, whatever, on the track. BTW, getting ready to hit Chile.

The one that says +1.5 is where it will be in 90 minutes and the one that says -1.5 is where it was 90 minutes ago.

Since a full orbit is 90 minutes, I doubt that. However, now that I have zoomed in, I see the +/- 1,5h, but still don't know what the h indicates.

Decimal points are often annotated as commas in the crazier parts of Europe, and these annotations come from the ESA (E is for Europe). So, "1,5h" is 1.5 hours, or 90 minutes, or about one full orbit (which brings it back close to where it was an orbit ago). The plus (+) means 1.5 hours in the future and the minus (-) means 1.5 hours in the past.

[MarkBour]

This is really the bomb track! (when it's not gray). Thanks for linking to it.

Mind you, it is kind of cheating for "A.P. of the Day", since I believe I'll be able to come back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and it'll be different all the time. I hope the editors aren't thinking about retiring

I have some youthful ideas of how to improve this.
I guess interested parties should contact the HDEV project management ...