Stunning image reveals the International Space Station crossing in front of the moon with Mars glowing red in the background
- Images shows the ISS in front of the moon with milliseconds between frames
- In the top right hand corner of the image the glowing dot of Mars can be seen
- The photograph was taken on February 18 in New Mexico by a father and son duo
A remarkable image captures the moment the International Space Station (ISS) passes in front of the moon — with Mars making a spectacular backdrop.
The photograph was taken on February 18 in New Mexico and charts the progress of the ISS across the night sky.
The waning crescent Moon is framed by a glowing red dot to the right which is Mars.
Several snapshots of the ISS’s location, taken just milliseconds apart, were merged together to create a single spectacular photo.
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The photograph was taken on February 18 in New Mexico and charts the progress of the ISS through the night sky. The waning crescent Moon is framed by a glowing red dot to the right which is Mars (pictured)
Photographer Paul Schmit and his father Gary, snapped the stunning image.
‘I’ve been planning this shot for about a month, keeping my fingers crossed that some of the complicating factors that could have spoiled this shot wouldn’t lead to a missed opportunity,’ Mr Schmidt said, the Sun reports.
‘At 6:25am local time above the skies of northern New Mexico, the ISS was catching its first glimpses of the early-morning sunlight hundreds of miles above the Earth’s surface.
The ISS orbits Earth at around 250 miles around Earth. It passes in front of the moon in less than a second and the final version of the image is various images merged together that were taken milliseconds apart
‘While Mars slowly receded away from the Moon’s dark side.’
The ISS orbits Earth at around 250 miles above the surface.
It passes in front of the moon in less than a second and the final version of the image is various photographs merged together.
‘Clouds were an issue in my area, forcing me to plan multiple observing sites across a ~100-mile region and use satellite data and weather simulations the morning of the shoot to pick a final spot,’ Mr Schmidt continues.
‘Luckily, everything seemed to work out.
‘And at 6:25am my father and I sat under clear skies on an isolated piece of highway north of Albuquerque watching the faint, radiating ‘dot’ of the ISS pierce the centre of the moon in the early morning glow.
‘Just moments after watching Mars suddenly reappear from behind the lunar disk.’
