Mesmerising Moon: A Look Back at Three Stunning Lunar Photographs Taken Recently From and With the ISS | The Weather Channel – Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com – The Weather Channel
A waxing crescent Moon pictured from the ISS during an orbital sunset as it flew above the Pacific Ocean.
(Astronaut photograph ISS066-E-86969 / NASA)
There are very few things in the universe that can mirror the beauty of our natural satellite, the Moon, as visible to a human eye. The eternally mesmerising charm of the Moon has been captured in many forms throughout human history—from drawings to poems to stories to lenses!
In recent months, a slew of captivating photographs from astronauts and astrophotographers went viral on social media. A select few of such stunning images are listed below and we bet the story behind them will make you feel part of this beautiful journey with our Moon.
Astronauts capture crescent Moon from ISS
The mesmerising crescent may be the Moon’s most fascinating phase. While it’s always a source of wonder to figure out why the crescent Moon appears the way it does, the answer most of us would prefer is that it’s smiling at us.
A photo (at the top of this article) of the crescent moon rising over Earth started trending, and this was no ordinary photo but was taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS). The photo was taken with a digital camera while the International Space Station sailed over the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand.
The beautiful photograph illustrates how the last rays of the setting sun penetrate through the atmosphere’s numerous layers. The pictures show a multicoloured orbital sunset that gradually fades from orange near Earth’s surface to turquoise at the edge of space. The Rayleigh scattering principle, named after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh, explains these unique colours.
As per the theory, we observe such lights when electromagnetic radiation with shorter wavelengths, such as visible light, is scattered by particles with shorter wavelengths, such as air molecules. According to NASA, the different shades symbolise the first four layers of the atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The scattered light in each layer of the atmosphere is different because the density of gas particles in each layer varies.
The image was taken on December 6, 2021, by an anonymous member of the Expedition 66 crew that consisted of a group of seven astronauts from NASA, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russia’s State Space Corporation, Roscosmos.
After sharing the image with the world, NASA’s Earth Observatory on December 31, 2021, in a statement, said, “This image offers a symbolic finish to the year 2021 and a glimpse toward NASA’s next ambition for human-crewed exploration.”
Full Snow Moon from the ISS
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The symbolic use of the Moon to depict love and romance is time immemorial. This year, Valentine’s Day happened to fall very close to the Full Snow Moon, and fortunately, the astronomers onboard the ISS were ready to capture the union. NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei caught the glorious Moon peeking over the Earth against the dark canvas of the vast space.
Mark Vande Hei is on course to mark the longest spaceflight in human history with 355 days in low-Earth orbit. “Shockingly bright as I opened our shades, the Moon lingered, strutting by,” he said, sharing the snap on Twitter.
“Our astronauts are incredible explorers helping expand our knowledge of how humans can live and work in space for longer periods of time. Mark’s record-setting mission and his contributions to science are paving the way for more people to travel to space on longer-duration missions as the agency pushes the boundaries of exploration to the Moon and Mars. Thank you for your service, Mark, and congratulations,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a recent media release.
The astronaut witnessed the Full Moon a day after Valentine’s Day when the ISS station was orbiting at an altitude of 420 kilometres above the Pacific Ocean.
Amateur astronomer captures ISS crossing the Moon in great detail
Being an astrophotographer is tough! You need to find isolated places devoid of any light pollution (usually hundreds of kilometres away from the cities), carry large equipment, and wait for the opportune moment when something remarkable happens in the skies and (hopefully) you click the right frame at the right time.
It happened with the French amateur astronomer Thierry Legault who had to ride 250 km from home amid the thick fog to capture an event that lasted 1/2 second as the ISS crossed the Moon at 27000 km/h. And he was successful! The result is a stunning image with such incredible details that one could make out the faint grid pattern on the solar panel arrays of the ISS.
The image, taken on January 18, is claimed to be the most detailed photograph of the ISS passing the Moon.
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
