SILHOUETTES

SILHOUETTES: On Nov. 15th in the skies above China, a winged shadow flitted across the Moon. It couldn't have been a bird, however, because it was flying 17,000 mph:

"The International Space Station (ISS) transited the Moon at 3:38 China Standard Time," says Xin Li of the Beijing Planetarium. "We photographed the event using a Meade 8" LX200 and a ToUCam video camera." The flyby occurred not long after the space shuttle docked with the ISS, so there are actually two spacecraft in the picture. Can you find Endeavour?

Two nights later, Nov. 17th, the ISS and Endeavour passed in front of the Moon again, this time over Cracow, Poland: photo.

Lunar transits are not rare, but they can be challenging to observe because the space station crosses the 0.5^o face of the Moon in a split second. Usually the human behind the camera sees nothing until a later search through video frames reveals the fleeting silhouette.

There is an easier way. Look for the "anti-silhouette." In other words, watch the glowing body of the space station cross the great expanse of the night sky. The ISS outshines Jupiter and often Venus; you can't miss it! All you need are flyby times.

more images: from Mark Staples of Waldo, Florida; from Pieter Ibelings of Atlanta, Georgia; from David Tremblay of Alto, New Mexico

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