An astrophotographer has captured an extraordinary moment of the International Space Station (ISS) passing in front of the sun, creating a stunning silhouette against the solar disk. Miguel Claro, a renowned professional photographer and science communicator based in Lisbon, Portugal, successfully documented this rare event.
Claro, known for his spectacular images of the night sky, specializes in creating astronomical ‘Skyscapes’ that bridge Earth and the celestial heavens. The ISS transit occurred at a distance of 274 miles (441.5 km) from the observer and at a remarkable speed of about 4.5 miles per second (7.31 km/s).
The event, captured on June 2, 2024, in Figueira da Foz on the northern coast of Portugal at 1:18 p.m. local time, lasted a mere 0.54 seconds. Claro utilized a fast video camera from Player One Astronomy, the Apollo-M Max, with a high-speed frame rate of 109 images per second to immortalize this fleeting moment.
Despite the challenge of observing the ISS against the sun, Claro’s expertise allowed him to produce a series of individual frames that showcased the ISS’s distinct features, including its solar panels and modules. The processed images also revealed intricate details of the sun’s outer atmosphere, such as gas jets, a gas filament, an active region (sunspot), and solar prominences along the sun’s limb.
Claro’s remarkable photograph not only captures the ISS’s passage in front of the sun but also highlights the dynamic elements present on the solar surface. The delicate balance between Earth-bound technology and the cosmic expanse is beautifully portrayed in this unique image, offering viewers a glimpse of the intricate dance between humanity and the universe.
