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View Full Version : You have GOT to see this!

LoneWolf
15 May 2009, 02:55 PM
I saw these over at the Bad Astronomy Blog (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/15/check-this-out-amazing-photo-of-the-sun/). If you don't read Phil Plait's blog I highly recommend it.

Check out this picture of the sun. The picture alone is beautiful, but do you see those two tiny spots at the bottom left of the sun?

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/files/2009/05/atlantis_hst_2009may13.jpg

What do you think those are? My initial guess was sun spots. But look closer...

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/files/2009/05/atlantis_hst_2009may13crop.jpg

It is the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope! I'm sorry, but pictures don't get much cooler than that.
Matty
15 May 2009, 02:58 PM
sheesh. i hope they have their sunscreen on. :)

yeah very cool.
LoneWolf
15 May 2009, 03:03 PM
OK, I sized down the pics a tad. :)
Matty
15 May 2009, 03:09 PM
isnt there a rather funky automatic resize on here anyway?
Master Taran
15 May 2009, 03:12 PM
Kewl pics LW.
BioBeing
15 May 2009, 03:15 PM
Pretty cool!
Worldtraveller
15 May 2009, 03:53 PM
Wow, that's right up there with the photo they caught of the Phoenix lander from the Mars Orbiter for pure geek kewlness.
BWE
15 May 2009, 06:35 PM
Wow.
Daydream
15 May 2009, 06:40 PM
Excellent pictures, LoneWolf. Thank you for posting this.
Steviepinhead
15 May 2009, 07:44 PM
Wow! is right...

Also, Whew! I just hope that took along enough freon for the air conditioners...!
Steviepinhead
15 May 2009, 07:45 PM
Those pics are so cool, you should post them twice!
LoneWolf
15 May 2009, 07:50 PM
Those pics are so cool, you should post them twice!

HA! I merged the inadvertent double thread. Apologies to the Science mods, but it is MY thread dammit! ;)
BigEvil
15 May 2009, 11:05 PM
cool pics
Berthold
16 May 2009, 11:22 AM
Before reading the solution, I thought it might be an Earth transit seen from Mars.
Daydream
16 May 2009, 05:35 PM
This link has a good close up picture of the shuttle:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2431157.ece
LoneWolf
17 May 2009, 05:32 AM
Thanks, Revised. Some cool profile pics of the shuttle.
Puck
17 May 2009, 10:09 PM
I was telling everyone at Jobar's party yesterday that they had to come see the pics you posted, LoneWolf. I wouldn't tell them about them, because it's so cool to discover it yourself.
Valheru
18 May 2009, 06:22 AM
That's awesome!
Goodchild
18 May 2009, 08:04 PM
Even cooler is that the pics were taken by an amateur astronomer.
Mung Dynasty
19 May 2009, 01:56 AM
Saw it already on APOD. Kinda cool but doesn't blow me out like a lot of other space shots.
Schneibster
20 May 2009, 05:33 AM
Nice, LW, I'd've missed them if you hadn't posted.

It's cool whenever we see something silhouetted against the Sun.

The green: what wavelength is that? Is someone just using a mylar film or a silver coating, or some other full-spectrum light reducer? I might go look and see what's up, it's an interesting color for a Solar shot.
frazier
20 May 2009, 12:17 PM
It's cool whenever we see something silhouetted against the Sun.
I don't do much solar observing, but I recently saw a satellite against the moon. It was only there for a half-second or so, but I could clearly see the solar panels and the body of it.

what wavelength is that? Is someone just using a mylar film or a silver coating, or some other full-spectrum light reducer? I might go look and see what's up, it's an interesting color for a Solar shot.
Check out Thousand Oaks Optical (http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/), they have a line of solar filters including H-alpaha and white light, and one with an orange-yellow color.