Astronaut Photographs Perseid Meteor — From Space 61
astroengine writes "As the Perseid meteor shower begins to subside, there is one observer who was perfectly positioned to take a photograph where the skies are guaranteed to be clear from cloud. NASA astronaut Ron Garan — who is currently living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 27 — captured this stunning photograph of a Perseid out of the ISS window."
Re:Impacts? (Score:2, Informative)
What's the probability of these hitting the ISS?
Pretty low. Its kind of like incoming artillery, the ones you see are not the ones to worry about (classical, not NBC). Worry about the tiny little dot headed right towards you...
It would be less of a problem if the Chinese would stop blowing shit up in orbit. [bbc.co.uk]
Image Source (Score:4, Informative)
At the risk of being modded off-topic, here's the higher-resolution image [nasa.gov] mentioned by rts008 and JavaBasedOS for anyone interested.
It's actually sunset, as NASA mentions here [nasa.gov]. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a look.
I agree that, for all the advancements in knowledge that NASA and ESA develop, images such as these are what best capture children's imaginations and inspire them. This is what fuels dreams and fosters a desire to contribute to our* space program. Hopefully the image of this meteor inspires someone to pursue studies in a space-related career!
* - our = humanity's collective space program as a whole, because it doesn't matter if a child is from the US, the UK, the EU, China, India - we're all in this together, alone here on this rock.
Related: Pale Blue Dot [wikimedia.org]
Earth and the moon from Mars [nasa.gov]