STS-125 Atlantis Solar Transit (200905120002HQ)

In this tightly cropped image, the NASA space shuttle Atlantis is seen in silhouette during solar transit, Tuesday, May 12, 2009, from Florida. This image was made before Atlantis and the crew of STS-125 had grappled the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo Credit: (NASA/Thierry Legault)

Thierry made this image using a solar-filtered Takahashi 5-inch refracting telescope and a Canon 5D Mark II digital camera. Photo Credit: (NASA/Thierry Legault)

You can see more of Thierry's fine work at: www.astrophoto.fr/

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Comments

< Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >

(370 comments)

dterryphotography says:

Wow! That is WAY cool! I love it when you can see something that would ordinarily be invisible to the naked eye. This is awesome.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Rapha - Serrana says:

Absolutely amazing! :)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Peter Liu Photography says:

I'm in awe!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

macprohawaii says:

I thought it was a sunspot.... surprisingly the space shuttle. Wow!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

dgwoz says:

Fantastic photo. I too am in awe. Thank you!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

VisualUniverse says:

Incredible. I gotta try this.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

obouton says:

Awesome shots.
Makes me want to watch Sunshine again :)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

sirjoeyr says:

whoa.

incredible image...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

smiles7 says:

Most outstanding.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

albertoverbay says:

blazing saddle
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

hipydeus says:

Absolutely fantastic! Thanks!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

turutsrd says:

NASA's capabilities seem to be evolving quite nicely.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Gerald Davison says:

How fantastic is that!!!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

PsyberDave says:

Stunning!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

nasa hq photo says:

Solar transit opportunities where calculated using: www.calsky.com
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

HaleyHyatt says:

beautiful and amazing. kudos to the photographer and NASA -- and thank you so much for making this all so easily accessible to the public. you have me addicted to NASA-TV, btw!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

toomanytribbles says:

wowowow

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Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Dahlhouse says:

Unreal and so cool.
Stunning.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

mjm_nz says:

that's so cool!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Saskya says:

Whoa....
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Teddy n TJ Rule the World says:

amazing!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

StangGT says:

this is insane...it better make explore
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

robbtopolski says:

Why is this copyrighted?
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

LVibber says:

Wow! Absolutely beautiful!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

[oskr] says:

That's fantastic! Wow. Astronomy never ceases to impress me.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

stargazer95050 says:

The same photog also captured both Space Shuttle + Hubble together, minutes before they docked : legault.club.fr/atlantis_hst_transit.html
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

jimnista says:

amazing
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Taffy Cat says:

Amazing, just amazing.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Arjuna Ravikumar says:

Wow.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Claudio Branch says:

We are all quite small!

Amazing picture...I have always loved these kinds of images.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

vtpeacenik says:

Little noisy, but otherwise a great shot...........

JUST KIDDING!!!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Numinous.ca says:

I am amazed, to say the least.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

edwindotjpg says:

Wow.. I'm in awe.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

otodo says:

Awesome!!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

noamgalai says:

crazy
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Tresijas says:

WAY cool. I'm feeling so tiny...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

ghosts of love says:

I was on this ship. .. and it wasn't yellow.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

nick123n says:

WOW!!!!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

mathotspot says:

I am speechless! Stunning!!!
I want this telescope!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

gmumaw says:

Big Sun, Little space ship!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

pjah73 says:

That's absolutely amazing!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

John "K" (busy busy busy) says:

OH WOW - I want that camera :)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Ian Levack says:

just amazing.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

blakemvaughn says:

wow you dont see that every day
nice
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Dan O. says:

The shuttle's entire transit lasted only 0.8sec and the picture was taken at 1/8000ths of a second I believe. In every sense, excellent work Mr. Legault!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

victor.lavrentev says:

Great image!!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

blakemvaughn says:

but how did you do it
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

rstcg says:

How small are we?

The first time I saw the picture... man, it will never leave my mind.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Lightning Bug Creek says:

What a fantastic accomplishment!! Mr. Legault It's inspiring!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

tonyolm says:

Now that is just a very cool photo.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Fabio Ikezaki says:

This photo only reminds me of Carl Sagan's speech after Galileo took a picture of Earth from the end of our Solar System.... and all we could see was a Pale Blue Pixel.....
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

scottstepko says:

Honestly, this is one of the most POWERFUL images I have ever seen!

the scale, the power, the achievement... it's just unreal! I've never seen anything like it!

I feel like it epitomizes the human condition!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

captainkimo says:

OMG... astrophotography here I come! Awesome photo.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Pagan Moth says:

this is bloody amazing
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

A.D.Wheeler says:

Wow!! How tiny and insignificant we are! Great shot kid, thats one in a million! ;-)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

...:::Sticker Traders:::... says:

straight out of buck rogers...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Larry Moran says:

To do this at home, first you take an orange..
LOL

What an impressive image. Thanks, NASA. : )
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

jakerome says:

Should this has a "US Government Work" license?

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Seen on blog.flickr.net (?)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

cal_gecko says:

Kudos to the photographer... awesome image.. too bad NASA is such a phenomenal waste of money...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

虎子哥 says:

煎蛋观光团到此一游
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

寨主 says:

煎蛋观光团到此一游
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Chris.Gray says:

To see it uncropped:

STS-125 Atlantis Solar Transit (200905120001HQ) (explored) by nasa hq photo

Amazingly beautiful, and as Dan O. said, this was really a great achievement to capture in the timeframe.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

liteben says:

great! awesome sense of scale
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Fayaax says:

Wonderful
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

oybay © says:

Tres cool.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

TracerBullet999 says:

wow, very inspiring...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Arpad Lukacs says:

I just saw this photo on the front page of the Times in London. Great stuff, I would love to know what camera was used to take this photo!

Arpad
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

kayakaya says:

wonderful transit...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Aaron Hape says:

Out of this world... :)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

ShutterSparks says:

That's a wicked cool shot. Nice work!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Katie-Rose says:

Stunning!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

quan ha says:

awesome
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

PJ Nelson says:

Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Andy39Smith says:

Awesome shot. Never imagined this could be done

. Like the jumbo on the previous comment. Very funny.
--
Seen on blog.flickr.net ( ?² )
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

OctaviusPie says:

This photo blows my mind. I just love it.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

oboz says:

That's a great shot-it's a lonely place out there in space.
!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

dobienet says:

This is simply astounding! I wonder what size the telescope that took it was?
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Scott9432 (PC Issues, be back when I can) says:

Beautiful! I was supposed to see this launch last October when it was originally scheduled. But it got delayed.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Brian The Euphonium says:

Astonishing!

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Seen on blog.flickr.net (?)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

jixxertwig says:

Fantastic - I'm never in the right place for these kinds of shots...... :o/
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

PeteZab says:

Wow.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Sean Hogan - 何祥  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Things that make you go WOW., and we'd love to have this added to the group!

I guess you had little say in the lighting, right? LOL.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

k_ says:

fabulous !...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

robinsongeoff says:

An UTTERLY AWESOME CAPTURE . . . one of those 'once-in-a-lifetime' shots . . . and it certainly cuts us down to size !!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

EagleXDV says:

Very Impressive.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

marlesghillie says:

totally stunning!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

BlackCatzz says:

Awesome capture!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

jonathanclark says:

Stunning - I'm in awe...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

nktnry says:

Grapefruit: The Final Frontier.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Mamouss says:

awesome picture. thanks !
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

GreenStorm_01 says:

this is some pretty awesome shot. though I don't think this is the final frontier, cause a space-shuttle is no real space-ship.. in the sence that this word is used for example StarTrek
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Vivid~David ( i'll be back ) says:

Really awesome !!

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Seen on blog.flickr.net (?)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

gray_um says:

Amazing....how small we are ;)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Models & Nature says:

thats a very cool shoT !! wow
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Welshdan says:

Amazing. Made me stop and think how amazing this universe we live in really is.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Jonny Bens says:

wonderful shot!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

jacreative says:

this is absolutely amazing
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

dogdaisy92 says:

The photograph in itself is amazing, but also as testament to human achievement is incredible.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

barbara.elaw decorating/work = busy says:

words fail me
outstandingly wonderful
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken in Brevard County , Florida (map)
Taken on May 14, 2009
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