Astronaut Matthew Dominic, who is on the ISS, has published a very spectacular photo that has already been named by many as one of the best space photos of 2024. It shows the view from the window of the Starliner spacecraft.
The foreground of Dominic’s image is occupied by Starliner’s main competitor, the Crew Dragon spacecraft. It docked with the ISS on March 4, 2024, carrying four people aboard the orbital complex.
The light rays and glow emitted by the object outside the frame are clearly visible on the right side of the image. It may appear that their source is the Sun. But it’s actually the moon.
The point is that at the time of the survey, the ISS was above the night side of the Earth. That is why many bright stars can be seen in the image. But if the photo had been taken when the ISS was flying over the day side of the Earth, they simply would not have been visible against the bright light of the Sun.
Recall that NASA recently postponed the return of the Starliner spacecraft to Earth again. This is required to give more time to carry out various checks designed to gather maximum data on its technical condition and to make sure it is safe for the crew.
