NASA astronaut shares photo from space that "can no longer be taken"

Astronaut and astrophotographer Donald Pettit demonstrated a stunning image he took from the International Space Station (ISS). He emphasized that such a photo "cannot be taken anymore."

The NASA scientist took the published photo back in 2003. But since 2006, the ISS has adjusted its angle, remaining with one side facing the Earth, which makes it impossible to take photos with the same lighting as before, IflScience writes.

Sometimes the question arises as to why stars are not visible in photos taken from the International Space Station. One might assume that stars should be more visible from space. But in fact, to photograph stars, you need to extend the exposure time to get enough light. During this time, the camera must be pointed precisely at the space object to be photographed.

This used to be possible on board the ISS. This can be seen in a photo taken by astronaut Donald Pettit during his stay on the space station in 2003. The photo shows the green glow of the air from atomic oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere and a number of stars.

"At that time, the Space Station's orbital position was solar-inertial (XPOP), which allowed the solar panels to point at the Sun without any tracking. Solar tracking was added to the ISS much later. In fact, the station itself was a tracking mechanism. Therefore, for the camera installed on the ISS, the time exposure gave the stars in the form of clear dots," Pettit explained in his Instagram post.

However, since 2006, the ISS has adjusted its angle, remaining with one side facing the Earth.

The astrophotographer took the above photo with a 30-second exposure, but now, according to the scientist, such an exposure will show the stars in the form of arc trails.

Although the tilt of the ISS limits the images of stars to less than half a second, Donald Pettit plans to take a tracking device to compensate for the movement of the space station during a future trip. With advanced cameras now available, there is hope to get more images of the bright star field after the NASA astronaut returns to the space station.

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