What's that in front of the Moon? It's the International Space Station . Using precise timing, the Earth-orbiting space platform was photographed in front of a partially lit Moon last year. The featured image was taken from Madrid , Spain with an exposure time of only 1/1000 of a second. In contrast, the duration of the transit of the ISS across the entire Moon was about half a second . The sun-glinting station can be seen just to the dark side of the day / night line known as the terminator . Numerous circular craters are visible on the distant Moon, as well as comparatively rough, light colored terrain known as highlands , and relatively smooth, dark colored areas known as maria . On-line tools can tell you when the International Space Station will be visible from your area.
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Media Credits & Attribution
Image Credit & Copyright: Dani Caxete