This was featured on Slashdot, and I thought I’d share it here since it is so impressive. From the description on YouTube:
A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy.
Turn on HD (720/1080) for best viewing if your monitor supports it.
Raw data was downloaded from;
The Gateway To Astronaut Photography of Earth
“http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/mrf.htm
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What Angry Exile said. Amazing though.
Real Time Satellite Tracking… UARS (satellite slated for pre-mature re-entry and others).
http://www.n2yo.com/?s=21701
I take it there is a full moon and taken with a high ISO camera?
The value of the ISS would be reduced greatly by not being able to overfly the entire Earth’s surface.More expensive O&M, but far greater value.
Sandy Rham says:
September 19, 2011 at 1:33 am
The orbit was determined by the latitude of Russia’s Baikonur (sp?) space port. The cheapest route to orbit from some latitude is to an orbit tilted at that latitude. A launch from Cape Canaveral to an equatorial orbit is more expensive than one that doesn’t pass overhead. The additional cost to get something to a somewhat higher inclination orbit isn’t great.
Personally, I think Ecuador should build a launch facility on a mountaintop. The only thing worse than launching from sea level would be Death Valley. Probably not a good name for a space port either.
Sandy Rham says:
September 19, 2011 at 1:33 am
The ISS has to pass beyond Russia’s Baikonur launch site latitude, about 46° N. This condition is met with the ISS orbital inclination at almost 52°.
See:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/tracking/
http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Launch_Azimuth
http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm
Oops: A launch from Cape Canaveral to an equatorial orbit is more expensive than one that
doesn’t passpasses overhead.Way…. Way Cool!
Such an violent,active but sear thin atmosphere
To nurture and shield all life thriving here!
Shattered lightning splinters darkling skies,
primordial fractal arcs, the mote in God’s eyes…
An ISS epiphany,
watch tower beacon for a toddling humanity!
Mtk