APOD: Space Station Vista: Planet and Galaxy (2017 Jan 18)

[APOD Robot]

Space Station Vista: Planet and Galaxy

Explanation: If you could circle the Earth aboard the International Space Station, what might you see? Some amazing vistas, one of which was captured in this breathtaking picture in mid-2015. First, visible at the top, are parts of the space station itself including solar panels. Just below the station is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, glowing with the combined light of billions of stars, but dimmed in patches by filaments of dark dust. The band of red light just below the Milky Way is airglow -- Earth's atmosphere excited by the Sun and glowing in specific colors of light. Green airglow is visible below the red. Of course that's our Earth below its air, with the terminator between day and night visible near the horizon. As clouds speckle the planet, illumination from a bright lightning bolt is seen toward the lower right. Between work assignments, astronauts from all over the Earth have been enjoying vistas like this from the space station since the year 2000.

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[Boomer12k]

But isn't some of that invisible to the human eye, and only brought out by photography? And most stars not seen? Don't get me wrong, it is a VERY cool pic.

The Upside down Pipe Nebula looks like an ELEPHANT.... lol....

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[gwrede]

The light area by the horizon is said to be the terminator. But the picture shows the center of Milky Way and it is said to be taken in mid-year. Then the Sun would have been behind the photographer.

[ta152h0]

Happy this vista is being shared with us mere mortals.

[Chris Peterson]

But isn't some of that invisible to the human eye, and only brought out by photography? And most stars not seen?

The fact that we can see some color in the Milky Way is an indicator that we're getting a little more in the image than we would with the eye alone. But not a whole lot- this sky only looks a little brighter than what we'd see from any dark sky location, which is what they see from the ISS when they're on the night side of the Earth.

[tomatoherd]

That's not the terminator. We see stars and Milky Way through it: it's the band of atmosphere. Besides, with ISS relatively so close to earth, if they could see the terminator, the sun would also be above the horizon.

[Ann]

Finally I can comment - my software is back, at least for now...

As a color commentator, I find it interesting that the Earth is so totally non-blue in this image. But one thing is blue: the flash of lightning.

Click to view full size image

NGC 6231 and IC 4628.

In the Milky Way, note just left of center, just above the red airglow of the Earth, a starry shape looking like a "white smile". It is the great cluster NGC 6231 and its "comet tail", the emission nebula IC 4628, as well as several scattered stars. The red glow of IC 4628 is at center of the image, and brilliant blue-white cluster NGC 6231 is at right. Unfortunately I have not been able to find out who took the picture, but I feel certain that it is a German photographer, perhaps named Wahl, and the picture was taken in Namibia.

In the picture at left, NGC 6231 and IC 4628 are looking sad instead of smiling, but it is the same cluster and nebula as in the APOD.

Ann