16th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Altered Images
Out of the Darkness There Came a Great Light

This image shows the International Space Station crossing in front of a perfect half moon just after sunset. Although the sun was below the horizon at ground level, it had not yet set on the ISS far above the planet’s surface, causing the spacecraft to glow in the sky. This creates a remarkable visual of the illuminated spacecraft streaking across the darkness of space, flirting briefly with the cratered moon, and speeding off once again back into the darkness.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2018
Date Uploaded: 07.2018
Photo Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
Copyright: © Paul Schmit