Posted on by Ken Kremer

Dazzling Photos of the International Space Station Crossing the Moon!

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Has the International Space Station (ISS) secretly joined NASA’s newly arrived GRAIL lunar twins orbiting the Moon?

No – but you might think so gazing at these dazzling new images of the Moon and the ISS snapped by a NASA photographer yesterday (Jan. 4) operating from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Check out this remarkable series of NASA photos above and below showing the ISS and her crew of six humans crossing the face of Earth’s Moon above the skies over Houston, Texas. And see my shot below of the Moon near Jupiter – in conjunction- taken just after the two GRAIL spacecraft achieved lunar orbit on New Year’s weekend.

In the photo above, the ISS is visible at the upper left during the early evening of Jan. 4, and almost looks like it’s in orbit around the Moon. In fact the ISS is still circling about 248 miles (391 kilometers) above Earth with the multinational Expedition 30 crew of astronauts and cosmonauts hailing from the US, Russia and Holland.

Space Station Crossing Face of Moon
This composite of images of the International Space Station flying over the Houston area show the progress of the station as it crossed the face of the moon in the early evening of Jan. 4, 2012 over NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA
click to enlarge

The amazing photo here is a composite image showing the ISS transiting the Moon’s near side above Houston in the evening hours of Jan 4.

The ISS is the brightest object in the night sky and easily visible to the naked eye if it’s in sight.

With a pair of binoculars, it’s even possible to see some of the stations structure like the solar panels, truss segments and modules.

Check this NASA Website for ISS viewing in your area.

How many of you have witnessed a sighting of the ISS?

It’s a very cool experience !

NASA says that some especially good and long views of the ISS lasting up to 6 minutes may be possible in the central time zone on Friday, Jan 6 – depending on the weather and your location.

And don’t forget to check out the spectacular photos of Comet Lovejoy recently shot by Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank aboard the ISS – through the Darth Vader like Cupola dome, and collected here

Moon and International Space Station (at lower right) on Jan 4, 2012 from NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA click to emlarge
Moon, Jupiter and 2 GRAILs on Jan. 2, 2012
Taken near Princeton, NJ after both GRAIL spacecraft achieved lunar orbit after LOI - Lunar Orbit Insertion- burns on New Year’s weekend 2012. Credit: Ken Kremer

14 Replies to “Dazzling Photos of the International Space Station Crossing the Moon!”

  1. Has the International Space Station (ISS) secretly joined NASA’s newly arrived GRAIL lunar twins orbiting the Moon? No – but you might think so gazing at these dazzling new images of the Moon and the ISS snapped by a NASA

  8. “Send Ken your ISS sighting photos to publish at Universe Today”

    Hey Ken, have you received them? :DDD

      1. lol, I thought you had copied that sentence there by accident and it’s by some colleague. xD

        Strange place to put it and in 3rd person.

  10. Political-speak Alert!
    With the Proven advances in every area of science and technology that our Space Program has generated over the past half century. It beggars the imagination as to why, we as a nation are cutting budgets and crippling exploration. In an economy that sorely needs an infusion of new and innovative thinking, we are scaling back when we should be surging ahead! I was lucky enough to have lived in the era that witnessed our country stand up and put Men on the Moon.(and now women is space) We as a country have a proud heritage of getting things done on a Crash/Do-it NOW basis: (Think: Manhattan Project, Man on the Moon in less that ten years) The former is scary, the later is awesome! It is time for all scientists of whatever discipline to speak out and support funding for their areas of research. Be Pro-active! Raise hell, but quit silly research like “Why lower order primates love to masturbate” (hint, it feels good) and other such inane things. Stretch your imagination! Lets get on the right track to the next frontier.We just may discover new and wondrous things! maybe LIFE on one of the moons circling a Gas Giant?
    The Cosmos is far and away more interesting that we can imagine. Let’s Look!

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