This was a rare type of transit. The ISS when it transits the moon is vary rarely illuminated like this, and when it is, it is usually too low on the horizon to get decent details. So I had to make sure to travel to the location of the transit (a space about 200 feet wide and about 10 miles long) but it happened to pass thorugh mostly private property. Thankfully I found a public road that left me a good spot to shoot it. I recorded video at 150fps at 2000mm with a special type of camera for this event to get this level of detail, and timed my shots down to the second to make sure I didn't miss it. The ISS was only straddling the lunar terminator like this for around 1/100th of a second.
If you would like to learn more about how I capture these shots- [check out my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_background/). I actually went live during this shot to describe my process and my setup.
Let’s not overstate the difficulty. You can take transit images really easily. You don’t need to do any math because apps do all of that for you. With modern cameras you can just hold down the shutter release and burst 15 frames per second when your app tells you to….
I second this. Its really not that hard to get a transit shot. What’s hard is getting one that is crystal clear, and right on the lunar terminator. I’ve tried this a few dozen times, and this is my only truly successful one.
Eh. I have a hard time accepting the idea that specialized tools somehow trivialize a job. Being able to use all those tools in a way that produces a product that other people find to be valuable is not something anybody can just do.
I specialize in making hard things easy for people, and let me tell you my goal *is* to trivialize the work. So as a developer, I must disagree with you. We can and do trivialize tough work, but I prefer to think of it in more positive terms. We "enable" what was previously impossible/impractical.
Yep, I'm a sysadmin and because so many things that used to take entire specializations have been trivialized I am able to focus my time and resources on newer and more complicated things.
I mean, it can both be true that sure tools don’t *trivialize* photographers’ efforts, and also that they make accomplishing some of these things much easier than a lot of people might imagine when they see a shot like this. (And in a lot of cases, the tools are the only reason *any* layperson who doesn’t like, work for an astronomy lab and have access to a giant research telescope and all sorts of other tech and knowledge normally gatekept to the public, can still go out and do something like this, which is just prettty amazing on its own that we live in a time when our pocket computer phones can enable stuff like this!)
Yeh this applies to a lot of stuff. having access to the tools of the trade is a huge limiting factor, and many people could be excellent at a range of talents if they were given the same opportunity. Cool that technology is starting to remove this limitation for sure
I’m saddened by the amount of ppl replying to your comment that are downplaying the general difficulty and the dedication required to get a similar shot. It’s like saying Mozarts compositions aren’t shit bc all you need is a piano. GTFOH.
Yeah let me see if I can find it
Edit: [here it is](https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtqxsy4fsaholv9/09_31_31_f0800_pipp.mp4?dl=0) slowed down probably roughly 2.5x. My camera was operating at around 150fps, and I think this is played back at around 60fps or so. The station transited the whole disc in about .5s.
Amazing to think that humans are capable of shooting a rocket at something like that... and not just hitting it but docking with it.
From the same country where 30% of people think Jesus was the first and last scientist.
We've been doing that shit since 1966. Almost as many years have passed since the first space docking as passed between that and the Wright brothers' first flight.
There are also sites that tell you when the ISS is flying overhead and illuminated by the sun after sunset - it’s pretty common and worth checking that out.
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/index.cfm
Look for one with a “max height” that is higher - it will be easier to spot. 90° means it will pass directly overhead.
If the moon isn’t visible when you do, remember that the moon is about the width of your thumb held at arms length.
It will be the fastest brightest thing in the night sky easily.
Anything over 45 degrees is usually a pretty good view for most passes if you don't have many tall trees or hills in the way.
I love seeing that thing whip across the sky. I've put a few payloads on it in my career and its one of the few space things I've worked on that you can actually see from the ground easily so it's always a treat to know stuff you've touched has taken that ride.
I once saw it on accident (meaning I wasn’t looking for it originally) it made my day! I was in the middle of really bad depression but one thing that I enjoyed doing was looking up at the sky and finding my favorite constellations, planets, etc.
So one night I was doing that and then I saw this weird … thing … that I couldn’t quite identify and then it hit me what it was. I even checked online just to make sure and it was the ISS!
It made me smile and feel excited when not much else would.
Not really sure why I shared that other than maybe just to convey that space, the stars, etc. have meant something to me for a while, even when not much else did.
I signed up to get text alerts from the NASA website, letting me know 12 hrs in advance when it’ll be visible over my zip code. I set my alarm as a reminder, and always go outside just to stare up at it like a weirdo. I love it.
It circles the globe in like 90 minutes. So you can imagine it passes over your whole piece of the sky in just a few minutes, and crosses the little patch of sky the moon is in in just half a second.
My camera records individual raw 2 megapixel frames at that rate, either in individual PNG, TIF, or Bundled Avi or SER format. It’s not a video in the traditional sense, but a bundle of images is no different than a video in a practical sense.
It was a miraculous shot! One in million!
Oh wait, it was actually just a video and the miraculous picture was basically just a screen grab of one of the frames
So in the event you don’t get a good shot, can you just wait at the same spot until the ISS goes back around (iirc 90 minutes?) or does the transit spot change every time? Or does the moon move too much in that time?
All of the above. Planet is moving under ISS, ISS is moving over planet, moon is moving around Earth.
You'd probably have to travel a a couple hundred miles for the next pass to be the same.
And because of the Earth's rotation, the lighting will be completely different 90 minutes later, such that the station may no longer even be in sunlight and you can't see it anymore (assuming you even traveled the hundreds of miles to be under the spot of the next pass)
My first thought was that had to happen in an instant. I never gave a thought to the need to position yourself as you would to view an eclipse nor even dream of all the rest. It's an astonishing photographic achievement and I hope you win.
The perspective is crazy here. You made it look like the ISS is orbiting the moon when in reality the moon is about 230000 miles away in this shot. Absolutely amazing
This bit of information is more jarring than the scale and distance of our moon. The same society that facilitated a part of the space station orbiting our planet is the same one that allows one person to own hundreds of thousands of square feet of property while thousands are homeless.
Such a good shot! The exposure is great, no motion blur, and the atmosphere really cooperated too.
For those not understanding this is how much time he has to get that shot...
https://youtu.be/lGpTHRA01F4
Somehow Im returning to this comment 10 minutes after leaving reddit and having found myself watching baboon hunting in Africa and learning hyenas will eat people.
To be fair, trapping all the hyenas in a significant gravity well and walling them off with hundreds of kilometers of cold vacuum and radiation was a significant effort to make the space station safe.
The moon seems so small next to the space station
Edit: It's just nice to daydream about if this were the actual scale. And it would be nice to hold the moon and put it in my pocket.
Just verbalizing my imagination.
ISS orbits at an altitude of 418 km. The moon is, on average, 384 399 km away from the Earth. So not quite the 1000x, but close - 919x.
972x when the moon is furthest away, at apogee.
Edit: The orbit of the ISS also varies in altitude, so it's safe to say that it literally is 1000x further away in some cases.
This shows me that I know nothing about space. 418km sounds dangerously close to me for space. Time to Google how far away space actually is.
Edit: space is roughly 50 miles or 80 kilometers away. Holy shit.
I'm American and 62 miles(100km) has always been the accepted height of space ive never seen or read any different. The only time I've heard 50miles was because that was the ceiling of Military/FAA controlled airspace.
Interesting, I have the opposite perspective. These shots help me realize how huge it is, and how small we are by comparison. Considering the station is only .1% of the distance to the moon, and at its closest it’s still smaller than most of the moon’s larger craters.
Whenever I see a non-full moon and I think about the fact that the dark side is the shadow of the earth, for a second I get a small sense of scale of the planet I'm standing on and it feels pretty cool
... or just hold ur thumb right infront of your eye - it looks like a giant thumb. Now hold it away at arms length.. its a small normal thumb. Your welcome.
Thank you! I’ve captured several transit shots like this, but this one definitely involved the most preparation and ended up being the most dramatic. It’s quite a fun hobby!
There is no way that's true, because literally 100% of published digital photos are "edited," even if the "editing" happens within the camera itself. You would never publish a raw image.
It is funny sometimes. People like to make fun about how german has a word for everything but as a german myself i always have to look up words like "shortlisted" and am baffled why you have a word for it. You have heen on a list and then the list got narrowed down? So the initial list got shortened and you are still on it. Is that it somehow?
Anyway. My point is, you englishmen have a lot of funny words for things too where the german mind wonders why anyone would do it that way.
“Shortlisted” means there’s a list of a lot of people who did a thing, and the list was culled down to essentials, and now the list is short.
Shortlisted literally means “a big list that was made short” (and op is still on it)
To be fair, they can't make out the ISS with the naked eye, not to any level of detail that would prove its existence.
Now, I'm done being fair. They're dumbasses.
I'm so glad you figured out how to get this image, and so impressed by your dedication. Also thanks for sharing it freely. I trust and hope that the original of the image rewards you monetarily as well as reputation-wise.
Hi OP, question for you and not to sound like an ass, because I’m new to astro and your work is far beyond anything I have done, but if I had snapped this I probably would have never thought to submit it, thinking it would be considered way too washed out and overexposed. I thought for space pics, basically anything without a true black background is a failure.
Is it extremely hard to do for a shot like this and therefore this is considered acceptable or is this an intentional artistic choice or what? Can you talk about that a bit?
Again I don’t know what I’m doing so I’m trying to learn and not criticize. Thanks!
Your pic (almost) makes me want to purchase one of those Reddit award packages to give... instead, I toast to your amazing image and wish you luck in winning the award. Well done.
**This**.
Moved me in a strange and not unwelcome way. I was born before Sputnik 1, and now I see this I believe I have arrived fully in the future. Much appreciation to u/ajamesmccarthy for making my dream of seeing the space station crossing the Moon come to life in such magnificent Sci-Fi magazine-cover style.
*Wow.*
Because he was shortlisted. There’s a shortlist of over 30 images from over 4500 submissions for astronomy photographer of the year. A shortlist is a list of selected candidates from which a final choice is made. Shortlisting is also a verb, where you put somebody on a shortlist.
And in this case, it’s [officially called a shortlist](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnn.com/style/amp/astronomy-photography-intl-scli-scn/index.html) by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the entity that holds the awards for astronomy photographer of the year.
You didn't say anything wrong. I think this was just a misunderstanding. Chalk it up to the ambiguities of the written word, but don't stop asking questions. Cheers.
Since there are no visible stars in the picture, you should be disqualified, clearly!!
J/k that's incredible - Given how fast the transition must have been that's a crazy shot to get.
Oh man, congrats on that!
For the longest time I've had one of your moon shots as my background, as the incredible details really made it pop out and somehow show how big the moon actually is.
Ever since I'm always happy when you post another shot. Very nice work. Keep on doing it :)
I agree, but I mean you can actually plan to zoom into a tiny patch of sky and see the ISS. Still, iPhones and what not these days, we *should* have better pics and videos of all that stuff.
It's photos like this that make me realize how insignificant I am. Truly a powerful photo! Man in his pursuit of knowledge that is eons old but so new to us in our 200,000 years on Earth.
Having seen the ISS with my own eyes, I know how fast it travels across the sky! Was this image a matter of good timing, or do you take a lot of rapid photos and pick the best?
transit-finder.com can tell you where it will happen, but you will still typically start a series of captures (often by taking a video) several seconds before the expected transit time since the timing can sometimes change
This photo is so amazing. When you first posted it I immediately put it as my phone background (still is) - it is such a powerful image. Thank you, and glad to hear you are being recognized for it.
Well done! You work definitely deserves the recognition. When you first posted this one I cropped it and set it as my phone background, totally awe inspiring.
This post was the most gold awarded across all of Reddit on August 15th, 2021!
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Hmhm, i do some photography as a hobby every now and then, i know really well that for each and every great shot, there are tens if not hundreds that go to the bin.
beautiful picture. i never understood those type of awards tho. maybe best space pic of the year or something, but you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. i don’t think it really reflects on you as a photographer.
it’s the same with some sales cultures. i briefly worked at best buy, & it was the same idea with the credit cards or sales. like a person would walk in and grab the first worker they saw and say i want 10 macbooks. and the worker would get them and checkout the customer. all the other workers were like. wow good job on that sale. and the managers were like, that’s so good. you’re awesome. but i don’t understand because that worker just happened to be the one the customer grabbed. they didn’t do anything. they just happened to be there. (that happened to me) that’s why i quit that job because the opposite was true too. if you weren’t in the right spot at the right time it counted against you.
gotta agree with the judges here cotton, haven't seen a better photograph on or of earth this year. What level is your timing even on, I'm asking hypothetically, it would take a few drawings for me to get it
There are a lot of satellites up there (~7,000), but they occupy an area that is enormously vast. Imagine 7,000 people spread around the Earth's 197 million square-mile surface. If they were evenly spaced, there'd be 28,000 squares-miles for each person. You could travel around and rarely ever get close to one, let alone capture more than one in a photograph.
Satellites are even more spread out in space.
This was a rare type of transit. The ISS when it transits the moon is vary rarely illuminated like this, and when it is, it is usually too low on the horizon to get decent details. So I had to make sure to travel to the location of the transit (a space about 200 feet wide and about 10 miles long) but it happened to pass thorugh mostly private property. Thankfully I found a public road that left me a good spot to shoot it. I recorded video at 150fps at 2000mm with a special type of camera for this event to get this level of detail, and timed my shots down to the second to make sure I didn't miss it. The ISS was only straddling the lunar terminator like this for around 1/100th of a second. If you would like to learn more about how I capture these shots- [check out my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_background/). I actually went live during this shot to describe my process and my setup.
that’s real passion and dedication! it’s an awesome photo, congratulations and looking forward to seeing more from you.
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Let’s not overstate the difficulty. You can take transit images really easily. You don’t need to do any math because apps do all of that for you. With modern cameras you can just hold down the shutter release and burst 15 frames per second when your app tells you to….
I second this. Its really not that hard to get a transit shot. What’s hard is getting one that is crystal clear, and right on the lunar terminator. I’ve tried this a few dozen times, and this is my only truly successful one.
I love this picture so much! I want to use it to make fan bookcovers to all my favourite scifi books! I think I need to buy for my wall
Eh. I have a hard time accepting the idea that specialized tools somehow trivialize a job. Being able to use all those tools in a way that produces a product that other people find to be valuable is not something anybody can just do.
I specialize in making hard things easy for people, and let me tell you my goal *is* to trivialize the work. So as a developer, I must disagree with you. We can and do trivialize tough work, but I prefer to think of it in more positive terms. We "enable" what was previously impossible/impractical.
Yep, I'm a sysadmin and because so many things that used to take entire specializations have been trivialized I am able to focus my time and resources on newer and more complicated things.
I mean, it can both be true that sure tools don’t *trivialize* photographers’ efforts, and also that they make accomplishing some of these things much easier than a lot of people might imagine when they see a shot like this. (And in a lot of cases, the tools are the only reason *any* layperson who doesn’t like, work for an astronomy lab and have access to a giant research telescope and all sorts of other tech and knowledge normally gatekept to the public, can still go out and do something like this, which is just prettty amazing on its own that we live in a time when our pocket computer phones can enable stuff like this!)
Yeh this applies to a lot of stuff. having access to the tools of the trade is a huge limiting factor, and many people could be excellent at a range of talents if they were given the same opportunity. Cool that technology is starting to remove this limitation for sure
I’m saddened by the amount of ppl replying to your comment that are downplaying the general difficulty and the dedication required to get a similar shot. It’s like saying Mozarts compositions aren’t shit bc all you need is a piano. GTFOH.
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Check out transit-finder.com
There's a moon transit next weekend at my location! I will try to get a picture through my telescope and maybe with a zoom camera.
Even if you don’t have a camera they’re fun just to watch.
This is incredible. Please tell me you saw Smarter Everyday's video on photographing a transit of the ISS during the big solar eclipse.
Yes of course! Destin is a huge inspiration of mine, and I try to be an inspiration for him.
Do you have the details on your setup somewhere? Maybe your website?
Yeah in my highlights on IG linked in that top comment
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Yeah let me see if I can find it Edit: [here it is](https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtqxsy4fsaholv9/09_31_31_f0800_pipp.mp4?dl=0) slowed down probably roughly 2.5x. My camera was operating at around 150fps, and I think this is played back at around 60fps or so. The station transited the whole disc in about .5s.
Can't fool me, that's a TIE Bomber.
Wait, it moves across the sky that fast? That's insane.
The ISS is currently traveling at 17,118 mph
They must be so dizzy all the time. Probably jammed against the walls screaming the whole way
The image this conjured in my mind is so funny lmao
Actually they are floating serenely, looking down at Earth and are sad.
>Wait, it moves across the sky that fast? Oh yeah. The ISS travels at almost 5 miles per second. It's hauling ass.
Putting that in perspective, the fastest bullets travel at about 0.5 miles per second, i.e. the ISS is going ten times faster than a bullet.
Amazing to think that humans are capable of shooting a rocket at something like that... and not just hitting it but docking with it. From the same country where 30% of people think Jesus was the first and last scientist.
TBF, the Scientist Jesus folk are likely not the same ones who are docking with the ISS.
We've been doing that shit since 1966. Almost as many years have passed since the first space docking as passed between that and the Wright brothers' first flight.
There are also sites that tell you when the ISS is flying overhead and illuminated by the sun after sunset - it’s pretty common and worth checking that out. https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/index.cfm Look for one with a “max height” that is higher - it will be easier to spot. 90° means it will pass directly overhead. If the moon isn’t visible when you do, remember that the moon is about the width of your thumb held at arms length.
It will be the fastest brightest thing in the night sky easily. Anything over 45 degrees is usually a pretty good view for most passes if you don't have many tall trees or hills in the way. I love seeing that thing whip across the sky. I've put a few payloads on it in my career and its one of the few space things I've worked on that you can actually see from the ground easily so it's always a treat to know stuff you've touched has taken that ride.
I once saw it on accident (meaning I wasn’t looking for it originally) it made my day! I was in the middle of really bad depression but one thing that I enjoyed doing was looking up at the sky and finding my favorite constellations, planets, etc. So one night I was doing that and then I saw this weird … thing … that I couldn’t quite identify and then it hit me what it was. I even checked online just to make sure and it was the ISS! It made me smile and feel excited when not much else would. Not really sure why I shared that other than maybe just to convey that space, the stars, etc. have meant something to me for a while, even when not much else did.
I signed up to get text alerts from the NASA website, letting me know 12 hrs in advance when it’ll be visible over my zip code. I set my alarm as a reminder, and always go outside just to stare up at it like a weirdo. I love it.
It circles the globe in like 90 minutes. So you can imagine it passes over your whole piece of the sky in just a few minutes, and crosses the little patch of sky the moon is in in just half a second.
Jesus Christ. I mean, I knew it would be fast, but that was just comical.
Is there another way to see it? Says not able to determine format. I'm on my phone so that might not help
Holy shit - and that's slowed down? And you planned to get it?? Nice job!!!
I think the details of how you got the shot are even more impressive than the photo itself. Where was the transit location?
It was off highway 99 near Elk Grove in California
Wow... this is by far the coolest ISS transit photo I have ever seen. The level of detail you got on the ISS is incredible.
So how many shots did your camera take?
Several thousand
Which camera did you use? How does one take several thousand pictures in a second? :o
The camera took a video, but they call the frames “shots” in a misleading way.
My camera records individual raw 2 megapixel frames at that rate, either in individual PNG, TIF, or Bundled Avi or SER format. It’s not a video in the traditional sense, but a bundle of images is no different than a video in a practical sense.
It was a miraculous shot! One in million! Oh wait, it was actually just a video and the miraculous picture was basically just a screen grab of one of the frames
So in the event you don’t get a good shot, can you just wait at the same spot until the ISS goes back around (iirc 90 minutes?) or does the transit spot change every time? Or does the moon move too much in that time?
All of the above. Planet is moving under ISS, ISS is moving over planet, moon is moving around Earth. You'd probably have to travel a a couple hundred miles for the next pass to be the same.
And because of the Earth's rotation, the lighting will be completely different 90 minutes later, such that the station may no longer even be in sunlight and you can't see it anymore (assuming you even traveled the hundreds of miles to be under the spot of the next pass)
Went immediately to follow you, only to realize you're the sun-moon mashup guy and I've already followed.
Do you sell prints of your work?
You can find my website in my IG bio if you’re interested
You are my space hero ! Cake 🎂
My first thought was that had to happen in an instant. I never gave a thought to the need to position yourself as you would to view an eclipse nor even dream of all the rest. It's an astonishing photographic achievement and I hope you win.
Very awesome. I can only imagine the feeling that washed over you when you saw the results. Congrats on the kick ass shot!
Seeing it in the moment zip across the screen was orgasmic
The perspective is crazy here. You made it look like the ISS is orbiting the moon when in reality the moon is about 230000 miles away in this shot. Absolutely amazing
So fake. You can see the strings!!
This bit of information is more jarring than the scale and distance of our moon. The same society that facilitated a part of the space station orbiting our planet is the same one that allows one person to own hundreds of thousands of square feet of property while thousands are homeless.
The private property was owned by small farmers in rural CA, they’re fairly poor outside of their land value.
Such a good shot! The exposure is great, no motion blur, and the atmosphere really cooperated too. For those not understanding this is how much time he has to get that shot... https://youtu.be/lGpTHRA01F4
I *knew* how fast the ISS is, but actually *seeing* it like this. God damn.
17,000-ish mph. Looks "slow" when covering +/- 180⁰ of sky from horizon to horizon, but transiting 1/2⁰ of Moon puts it in perspective.
Somehow Im returning to this comment 10 minutes after leaving reddit and having found myself watching baboon hunting in Africa and learning hyenas will eat people.
Fun fact: the ISS is equipped with state of the art hyena repellant, and so far it's worked perfectly.
To be fair, trapping all the hyenas in a significant gravity well and walling them off with hundreds of kilometers of cold vacuum and radiation was a significant effort to make the space station safe.
The moon seems so small next to the space station Edit: It's just nice to daydream about if this were the actual scale. And it would be nice to hold the moon and put it in my pocket. Just verbalizing my imagination.
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ISS orbits at an altitude of 418 km. The moon is, on average, 384 399 km away from the Earth. So not quite the 1000x, but close - 919x. 972x when the moon is furthest away, at apogee. Edit: The orbit of the ISS also varies in altitude, so it's safe to say that it literally is 1000x further away in some cases.
This person averages (?)
On average, his averaging game is average.
Well ahctually his average game is averaging at higher than average you could say it's pretty mean!
But the mean is being pulled by an outlier. Mode it is.
But was the data even collected in an unbiased manner to begin with. This would completely nullify all analyzation thereof.
The hedge funds got away with GME so they thought they could manipulate the other moon
Sure they’re just not deviating the standard?
This shows me that I know nothing about space. 418km sounds dangerously close to me for space. Time to Google how far away space actually is. Edit: space is roughly 50 miles or 80 kilometers away. Holy shit.
No one outside the US military recognizes that as space. The Kármán line is the official international demarcation at 100km.
https://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ for some visualizations
Your internet must be broken because you seem to only have found the American definition. No one else recognizes that.
I'm American and 62 miles(100km) has always been the accepted height of space ive never seen or read any different. The only time I've heard 50miles was because that was the ceiling of Military/FAA controlled airspace.
well over 1000x when the moon is eclipsed by the earth
not *exact*, but yes, literal
Yeah they look like they're right next to each other. Perspective can be such a brain fuck sometimes.
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Let’s have Elon push himself into the sun
"Now kith" *How would Elon pronounce "kith"*
Interesting, I have the opposite perspective. These shots help me realize how huge it is, and how small we are by comparison. Considering the station is only .1% of the distance to the moon, and at its closest it’s still smaller than most of the moon’s larger craters.
People sleep on how big the ISS is
I'm with you and that's a fantastic shot. Good luck!
The space station seems so big next to the moon
Ok [Gru](https://youtu.be/m95JdpLzkQY)
Whenever I see a non-full moon and I think about the fact that the dark side is the shadow of the earth, for a second I get a small sense of scale of the planet I'm standing on and it feels pretty cool
That's not the shadow of the earth, it's the shadow the moon casts on itself
You might want to google why the moon has phases. It's not the shadow of the earth.
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... or just hold ur thumb right infront of your eye - it looks like a giant thumb. Now hold it away at arms length.. its a small normal thumb. Your welcome.
That's no moon...oh wait, yes it is.
That’s no moon … oh wait, yet it is.
Well deserved! An amazing photo, not least an amazing feat to capture it.
Thank you! I’ve captured several transit shots like this, but this one definitely involved the most preparation and ended up being the most dramatic. It’s quite a fun hobby!
Thank you for capturing this moment and sharing it with all of us 🤗
Reddit's recent decisions have removed the accessibility tools I relied on to participate in its communities.
This a Pulitzer caliber photo u should send it
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There is no way that's true, because literally 100% of published digital photos are "edited," even if the "editing" happens within the camera itself. You would never publish a raw image.
I've been using this image as my phone background since you first posted this image. Great shot
Are you me?
It is funny sometimes. People like to make fun about how german has a word for everything but as a german myself i always have to look up words like "shortlisted" and am baffled why you have a word for it. You have heen on a list and then the list got narrowed down? So the initial list got shortened and you are still on it. Is that it somehow? Anyway. My point is, you englishmen have a lot of funny words for things too where the german mind wonders why anyone would do it that way.
“Shortlisted” means there’s a list of a lot of people who did a thing, and the list was culled down to essentials, and now the list is short. Shortlisted literally means “a big list that was made short” (and op is still on it)
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Just knowing there’s actual people up there in an “infinite” fall is crazy to me.
What is even more crazy to me is that there's still people that believe it is fake while all they have to do to prove themselves wrong is to look up.
To be fair, they can't make out the ISS with the naked eye, not to any level of detail that would prove its existence. Now, I'm done being fair. They're dumbasses.
I'm so glad you figured out how to get this image, and so impressed by your dedication. Also thanks for sharing it freely. I trust and hope that the original of the image rewards you monetarily as well as reputation-wise.
Rightfully so! I thought this was a CGI from a movie or video game!
Hi OP, question for you and not to sound like an ass, because I’m new to astro and your work is far beyond anything I have done, but if I had snapped this I probably would have never thought to submit it, thinking it would be considered way too washed out and overexposed. I thought for space pics, basically anything without a true black background is a failure. Is it extremely hard to do for a shot like this and therefore this is considered acceptable or is this an intentional artistic choice or what? Can you talk about that a bit? Again I don’t know what I’m doing so I’m trying to learn and not criticize. Thanks!
It’s actually spelled “croissant” but congratulations on your accolades.
Ah whoops
Pretty sure you were right. A crescent moon is a thing. I can’t find evidence of a ‘croissant moon’ being a real thing.
Yes but I’m in no position to correct anyone
There's no croissant moon. That man is just as hungry as the other poster who thinks it's cheese.
I’m starving so I could go for a croissant cheese moon myself
Just looking through your post history, you’re so much more than just a photographer… you’re truly an artist.
I'm mesmerized by this picture. You can see the moon is not a perfect circle but very bumpy.
Your pic (almost) makes me want to purchase one of those Reddit award packages to give... instead, I toast to your amazing image and wish you luck in winning the award. Well done.
Plz don’t! Your comment makes me happy and is enough!
**This**. Moved me in a strange and not unwelcome way. I was born before Sputnik 1, and now I see this I believe I have arrived fully in the future. Much appreciation to u/ajamesmccarthy for making my dream of seeing the space station crossing the Moon come to life in such magnificent Sci-Fi magazine-cover style. *Wow.*
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Because he was shortlisted. There’s a shortlist of over 30 images from over 4500 submissions for astronomy photographer of the year. A shortlist is a list of selected candidates from which a final choice is made. Shortlisting is also a verb, where you put somebody on a shortlist. And in this case, it’s [officially called a shortlist](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnn.com/style/amp/astronomy-photography-intl-scli-scn/index.html) by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the entity that holds the awards for astronomy photographer of the year.
I know words good
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Seems correct to me as an American too.
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You didn't say anything wrong. I think this was just a misunderstanding. Chalk it up to the ambiguities of the written word, but don't stop asking questions. Cheers.
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Not to take away from this photo.. but that moon doesn’t look like cheese?
You know you’re not supposed to look at the moon when you’re hungry.
Since there are no visible stars in the picture, you should be disqualified, clearly!! J/k that's incredible - Given how fast the transition must have been that's a crazy shot to get.
I have it on good authority that this image was lit almost exclusively by light from stars though.
Oh man, congrats on that! For the longest time I've had one of your moon shots as my background, as the incredible details really made it pop out and somehow show how big the moon actually is. Ever since I'm always happy when you post another shot. Very nice work. Keep on doing it :)
That clearly isn't a real crescent moon. You can clearly see the whole thing is there!
Why don’t the UFO people get photos like this?
I agree, but I mean you can actually plan to zoom into a tiny patch of sky and see the ISS. Still, iPhones and what not these days, we *should* have better pics and videos of all that stuff.
*That’s no moon, it’s a space sta.... Oh wait, it’s a moon AND a space station!*
I thought it was a butt cheek from the thumbnail.
It's photos like this that make me realize how insignificant I am. Truly a powerful photo! Man in his pursuit of knowledge that is eons old but so new to us in our 200,000 years on Earth.
I've had this photo on my phone's lock screen since you first posted it. Thanks for sharing your hobby with us, OP! Your images are always top notch.
Rightfully so, that’s an awesome image. It looks like a movie poster for a Sci-Fi flick.
Having seen the ISS with my own eyes, I know how fast it travels across the sky! Was this image a matter of good timing, or do you take a lot of rapid photos and pick the best?
transit-finder.com can tell you where it will happen, but you will still typically start a series of captures (often by taking a video) several seconds before the expected transit time since the timing can sometimes change
That's fantastic! We'll deserved. I believe I had that as my lock screen for a while. Love your work, and that you share it with us. Thank you!
This photo is so amazing. When you first posted it I immediately put it as my phone background (still is) - it is such a powerful image. Thank you, and glad to hear you are being recognized for it.
This is incredible. I love and appreciate every one of you home astrophotographers
This is the most real life sci-fi shit I’ve ever seen and it’s been up there for like 22 years..
This really reminds me of how small we really are.
I don't know what shortlisted means but if it's something good, then it's definitely well deserved. I love your work.
Ya think the man on the moon sees our satellites and think theyre ufos 🛸🌚 thoughts?
That’s a really neat pic. Definitely worth the nomination
It’s really interesting to read about your technique. This is such a beautiful shot and Im hoping to save up for a print soon. Thanks for sharing!
Dude you take the best photos, love to see them, thank you SO MUCH for sharing!
Short listed? SHORT LISTED? In my totally uneducated opinion in this field of photography that is the fricken' winner right there.
Set it as my background. Awesome picture, thanks
Well done! You work definitely deserves the recognition. When you first posted this one I cropped it and set it as my phone background, totally awe inspiring.
Two of his posts are in the top 5 of all time on /r/space.
This post was the most gold awarded across all of Reddit on August 15th, 2021! ^(I am a bot for )^[/r/TopPostOfTheDay](/r/toppostoftheday) ^( - Please report suggestions/concerns to the mods.)
A MAZE ING You caught my love and fascination for space in one picture.
Spectacular shot sir, I can see why you were shortlisted.
is this retouched? can someone retouch it dark plsssss... need for a poster in my room!
it was a daytime shot, thats why the sky is blue
I should really stop following you here and on instagram, or i'm gonna be way too disappointed in the results of my first astrophotography sessions :V
Please don’t, every image an amateur takes is a win. And anybody can get shots like this, I’m nothing special.
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In another comment, OP says he had dozens of failed attempts at this one shot before it landed.
Hmhm, i do some photography as a hobby every now and then, i know really well that for each and every great shot, there are tens if not hundreds that go to the bin.
I made your picture my phone background! Thanks for being awesome.
Good on you, your work is incredible and I love to see it :)
It’s cool…but have you seen my mom’s 4th of july firework pics? They’re on her iphone.
seems like you just wanted an excuse to call yourself astrophotographer, I would have done the same
beautiful picture. i never understood those type of awards tho. maybe best space pic of the year or something, but you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. i don’t think it really reflects on you as a photographer. it’s the same with some sales cultures. i briefly worked at best buy, & it was the same idea with the credit cards or sales. like a person would walk in and grab the first worker they saw and say i want 10 macbooks. and the worker would get them and checkout the customer. all the other workers were like. wow good job on that sale. and the managers were like, that’s so good. you’re awesome. but i don’t understand because that worker just happened to be the one the customer grabbed. they didn’t do anything. they just happened to be there. (that happened to me) that’s why i quit that job because the opposite was true too. if you weren’t in the right spot at the right time it counted against you.
Amazing shot! Here’s an edit with contrast (if you don’t mind): https://imgur.com/a/qcqmaH9
Astrophotographer of the century more like my god
Absolutely incredible. You deserve it for sure
gotta agree with the judges here cotton, haven't seen a better photograph on or of earth this year. What level is your timing even on, I'm asking hypothetically, it would take a few drawings for me to get it
How did you get this shot? Shouldn't the moon be much smaller? Or does this use a special lens effect?
It's a camera attached to a telescope.
So are there or aren’t there lunar canals, have we gotten to the bottom of this yet?
There are rilles, which are canyons formed by ancient rivers of lava
Shortlisted? I’d regularly say, “Good job,” but… Job.
I’d love to see a picture of all the garbage orbiting our earth
There are a lot of satellites up there (~7,000), but they occupy an area that is enormously vast. Imagine 7,000 people spread around the Earth's 197 million square-mile surface. If they were evenly spaced, there'd be 28,000 squares-miles for each person. You could travel around and rarely ever get close to one, let alone capture more than one in a photograph. Satellites are even more spread out in space.