Posts Tagged night photography
Launch Reflection
Credit & Copyright: James Vernacotola
I generally try to avoid posting two APOD pictures back to back, but it’s late (the night before), I’m tired, and this is a spectacular photo that posted over the weekend (so you may not have seen it.) I admit, I’m a sucker for night photography, but the framing of this shot — and oh, the colors!! — makes it downright FANTASTIC. Beautifully done, Mr. Vernacotola.
UPDATE, 2/22: The photographer has set up a special page for this photo, with a large Q&A section and reassurances that prints will be available soon. Join the mailing list to stay informed.
The 32nd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-130, left planet Earth on February 8. Its early morning launch to orbit from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A followed the long, graceful, eastward arc seen in this 2 minute time exposure. Well composed, the dramatic picture also shows the arc’s watery reflection from the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge, in Ponte Vedra, Florida, about 115 miles north of the launch site. In the celestial background a waning crescent Moon and stars left their own short trails against the still dark sky. The brightest star trail near the moon was made by red supergiant Antares, alpha star of the constellation Scorpius.
Columbia
Posted by Danielle in Perspectives on February 1, 2010
Space Shuttle Columbia over Houston, July 27, 1999 - © Danielle Signor
I mentioned on Twitter last week that the Columbia anniversary is something I take pretty personally, so I’m not going to attempt to make some happy-ooh-cool-space post like I typically do. Instead I’m sharing a picture I took of Columbia (STS-93) en route to a night landing in Florida, which I took from the rocket park at Johnson Space Center during my summer internship there. (Well, my internship was at LPI to be precise; we had access to JSC and used it whenever possible. Because we could. It was fun.)
ANYWAY we decided to watch the reentry at the rocket park because it was nice and dark, and in a fit of desperation, having stupidly forgotten my tripod I took this long exposure and somehow unconsciously tracked the shuttle’s path. DUMB. LUCK. It’s probably my favorite picture from that summer, especially given what happened on this day, seven years ago….
Earlier that summer, us interns went to the public welcome-back slideshow/ceremony for STS-96 at Space Center Houston. It was my first encounter with astronauts in Houston (it was just a week or two after we’d all arrived.) I seem to remember the rookies getting their pins, but I was in such an awed daze that it’s hard to say for sure. What I do remember was getting autographs after the presentation was over. Most of the crew looked tired, inured to the procedure; signing, a polite word or two, next please. All except one: a radiant young man, brimming with energy, asking each person’s name, writing a personalized message along with his signature, chatting with everyone in turn.
I don’t relate this to bag on anyone for not being astronaut-y enough; I’m sure dealing with the public is exhausting even under the best of circumstances. It’s just that this man shone out in the crowd, and I never forgot his smiling face, his kind words, and the scripture he wrote down under his autograph (Proverbs 3:5-6.) I met a lot of astronauts that summer, a lot of really incredible people, but this was the one that always stuck out to me (and still does; the memory hasn’t dimmed in a decade.)
His name was Rick Husband.
Happy 2010!
Sky photo credit & copyright: Tony Hallas, astrophoto.com
Tony Hallas doesn’t know how his photo above thrilled me to bits on Christmas Day — I never dreamed I’d see my home-mountain — is that a term? I live at the foot of it — on APOD! I live near Mount Shasta, California, which is on the right side of his photo; I’ve cropped it above to show just Mt. Shasta, because it’s clearly better than Mt. Lassen and YES I AM EXTREMELY BIASED, I DON’T CARE! (If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. And if you like those sites, click here, eheh. Thank you.)
Anyway, all mountain-bias aside, I’d like to wish all my visitors and regular readers a very happy 2010 — may yours be especially awesome! Thanks for your (site) patronage!!
Spiral Rocket Lightshow
Posted by Danielle in News & Happenings on December 9, 2009
Double-posting today, too awesome not to pass on: last night, what you see above appeared over the skies of Norway. This is not an aurora, and NOT Photoshop, as there are many witnesses, videos and photos. Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy has the explanation (most likely, a rocket/missile gone awry; if you’re not convinced, watch the video at the bottom), Gizmodo has collected the pictures and a video, and The Daily Mail has eyewitness interviews and more videos (and photos with credit, which I borrowed.) I learned about this initially from Space Weather, and despite it likely being a man-made phenomenon, it’s still quite a sight to behold!
Spiral light over Norway. Photo by Jan Petter Jørgensen
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