Downtown Flyover, photo by Kevin’s Stuff
The other night I came across an incredible video tour of the International Space Station by Commander Sunita Williams of NASA before she departed for Earth. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen and does so much to make the experience of living, working and moving in space a lot more tangible.
Commander Williams is a big part of what makes this video so engaging. She guides you through the corridors of the space station with a skill for explanation that I have seldom (if ever) seen. If she were born a hundred or so miles to the east, she’d be a Michigander. She wasn’t though, so I guess it might not be true what my grandmother told me about Ohio. Read her blog of the mission at NASA. (great photos)
Kudos to Commander Williams, and to everyone who worked across national and other divisions to make the ISS a reality. This video really made my day and I hope it makes yours – click to watch on YouTube!
About the photo, Kevin writes:
The International Space Station flies through the constellation Orion in the skies over downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan on a chilly and windy October evening.
This was a low pass in the southern sky (maximum altitude 34 degrees) so I decided to drive downtown to see if I could get a shot as the spacecraft flew over the buildings. I had done something similar in March of 2010, and figured if I could do it once, a second time wouldn’t be a problem.
Using timings and coordinates from Heavens Above via their Android app, I was able to determine where the flyover would begin and end. I set up my camera and did a few test shots before the actual time, and was ready by the time ISS was visible over the south-southwestern horizon.
I timed it so the light from the station would already be in the FOV of the lens, and opened the shutter until it disappeared a short time later. Then it was home to the computer to see if I could make anything out of the image. I guess I did.
Who says you can’t do astrophotography from the city? :)
View his photo bigger and see more in his ISS slideshow.
More nighttime photos on Michigan in Pictures.
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