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Credit & Copyright: Zarcos Palma
Explanation:
On January 3, two space stations
already illuminated by sunlight in low Earth orbit
crossed this dark predawn sky.
Moving west to east (left to right) across the composited
timelapse image
China's Tiangong Space
Station
traced the upper trail captured
more than an hour before the local sunrise.
Seen against a starry background
Tiangong passes
just below
the inverted Big Dipper asterism of Ursa Major
near the peak of its bright arc,
and above north pole star Polaris.
But less than five minutes before, the
International
Space Station
had traced its own sunlit streak across the dark sky.
Its trail begins
just above the W-shape outlined by the bright
stars of Cassiopeia near the northern horizon.
The dramatic foreground spans an abandoned mine at Achada do Gamo
in southeastern Portugal.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: space station
Publications with words: space station
See also: