Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day we feature a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

September 15, 1995

Space Station Mir Over Earth
Credit: NASA, Russian Space Research Institute

Explanation: This picture of the Russian space station Mir over the Pacific Ocean was recorded by the Space Shuttle Discovery in February 1995. During this mission Discovery performed a rendezvous and "fly around" with Mir in preparation for a future docking mission. Many scientific experiments and astronomical observations were completed jointly by the American astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts. An IMAX camera took many pictures of this historic encounter. Some cosmonauts have spent more than a year on board Mir, the longest anyone has ever lived in space. Work on an International Space Station is in progress.

Tomorrow's picture: Rockets and Robert Goddard