This is how large the International Space Station is.

Relaxing in the ISS.

The International Space Station flies over DC tonight at 9:36PM for 4 minutes! Skies will be clear, viewing perfect!

(photo: Europe & North Africa Sunset/NASA)

These incredible photos from the International Space Station make Earth look like a video game

Between these amazing photographs and his many wacky microgravity experiments, it’s abundantly clear that International Space Station astronaut Don Pettit has perhaps the coolest jobs on (and off of) this planet. Here’s his collection of long exposure “star trail” photographs that transform the Earth and the cosmic firmament into a pachinko parlor.Check out some of Pettit’s shots desktop-sized, and here’s his explanation of his method:

My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then ‘stack’ them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure.

You can find more of these astounding views at NASA’s Johnson Space Center Flickr page.

http://io9.com/5916874/these-incredible-photos-from-the-international-space-station-make-earth-look-like-a-video-game

(Source: )

Gorgeous photo of a resupply ship docking to the Space Station

We’ve seen so many simulated spaceship-to-space station docking in movies and on television, but it’s rare to see such a lovely photo of a real-life docking. This is the European Space Agency’s ATV-3, just as it’s about to dock to the International Space Station.

This glowing space pixie is an Automated Transfer Vehicle, an unmanned robotic supply ship. On this particular journey, ATV-3 was delivering 220 pounds of oxygen, 628 pounds of water, 4.5 tons of propellant and nearly 2.5 tons of dry cargo, as well as hardware, spare parts, food, and clothing. The crew actually readjusted its sleep schedule to welcome ATV-3 into port. I wonder if they got a similar view in exchange for their lack of sleep.

[NASA via Geekosystem]

io9.com

benvironment:

Okay, this clip is MUCH better than the one I posted yesterday.

It’s like something straight out of Star Trek, except that all the CGI and special effects in the world couldn’t match this for beauty………’CAUSE IT’S REAL!

‘Beautiful’ just doesn’t begin to describe it though.

 WOW!

Time Lapse Video From The International Space Station!

Amazing!

thefrogman:

Time lapse of the ISS orbiting the Earth.

[HQ GIF] [video]