Skywatcher Thierry Legault has snapped an image of the solar transit of the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle Atlantis.
The spectacular shot was taken just 50 minutes before docking of the two vehicles, taken from the area of Madrid, Spain on May 16th 2010.
Atlantis has just begun the “R-bar pitch maneuver” – a procedure when the shuttle performs a backflip that exposes its heat-shield to the crew of the ISS.
Since its approach trajectory is between the ISS and the Earth, this means that imagery taken shows Atlantis essentially from above, with the payload bay door opened.
Take your own view of Legault’s impressive work at:
By Leonard David