Astronomy Picture of the Day . Astronomy From An F-18 . ... Credit: Dan Durda and Alan Stern ( SwRI ) Explanation: In an era of blossoming ground and space-based observatories, astronomers are also pushing the envelope with airborne instrumentation - successfully capturing an asteroid occultation from a high performance jet aircraft. ... The camera used, known as the SouthWest Ultraviolet Imaging System (SWUIS) -A , was mounted in the cockpit of a NASA F/A-18 jet (inset lower left). ...