The space station passes in front of the sun, then the sudden eruption: the breathtaking photo

The passage of the International Space Station (ISS) in front of the Sun is already in itself an incredibly fascinating event to photograph, but Andrew McCarthy, one of the most talented astrophotographers in the world, …

The space station passes in front of the sun, then the sudden eruption: the breathtaking photo

The passage of the International Space Station (ISS) in front of the Sun is already in itself an incredibly fascinating event to photograph, but Andrew McCarthy, one of the most talented astrophotographers in the world, this time it went much further. In the shot published in recent days on social media, a violent sun eruption is immortalized, an event also called “flare” or “shine”, as spectacular as it is rare to photograph.

The passage of the space station in front of the sun

The American astrophotographer chose the sound desert, in the heart of North America, to observe our star in all its splendor. An observation that is anything but simple, above all due to the extreme conditions and very high temperatures, “enemies” notes of the electronic equipment necessary to admire “Il Sole” closely. McCarthy placed several telescopes, and then triggers multiple images that, after the post -production work, were joined to obtain the final result.

A snapshot to say the least breathtaking for several reasons. First of all, the passage of the space station, an iron “monster” 73 meters long, 100 wide and 20 high, which compared to the imposing star appears tiny. In addition, just above the ISS, McCarthy’s tools managed to capture a violent shine, an eruption on the surface of the sun (the photosphere), an event in which a large amount of energy is freed, comparable to the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of atomic bombs. The “proximity” between the flare and the space station, as well as the comparison of the size, obviously depends on a “game” of perspectives. The radiation emitted during solar eruptions can be very dangerous for astronauts, but the ISS is located in orbit 400 kilometers from the earth, while the distance from the sun is 150 million kilometers.


In his post on social networks McCarthy explained how difficult to photograph this types of events: “These solar transits are incredibly difficult to capture, especially when it is so hot that electronic devices stop working. Fortunately, I have not only managed to take the photo, but the sunbrush at the perfect moment has made this shot a unique opportunity, which I could never plan because of the fleeting nature of these brilliant. In addition to the photo with the detail of the ISS and the sun eruption, McCarthy also published the overall shot (available at the following link) with the image that was called “dreams of Kardashev” (Kardashev Dreams), in honor of the Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev, who disappeared recently.