Orbiting around 420 km ( 261 mi ) above our heads , the spaceman of the Internation Space Station ( ISS ) get a view of Earth like no other . Sometimes , it’sspectacular auroras , other times it ’s something more … curious .
European Space Agency ( ESA ) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – no alien tohaving a bit of fun in place – consume to Twitter yesterday to share what she shout an " intriguing sight " , a bright dot patently shine in the Negev desert in southern Israel .
Nighttime passing create arresting , ifslightly concerning , purview of the lights twinkling away on Earth , but daylight pass do n’t usually offer up up such view .
The Ashalim solar power plant is surrounded by 50,000 mirrors. Imahe credit: Bright Source
" challenging sight ! A bright dot in the Negev desert … so unusual to see human being - made lights in day passes ! " Cristoforettitweeted .
So what is she watch ? harmonise to Cristoforetti , the white speck showing up in the brown desert is " a concentrated solar power plant life , one of the technologies to get renewable vigor from the Sun . With one of the world ’s grandiloquent solar power towers ! "
TheAshalim solar thermal power stationin the Israeli desert is indeed one of the world ’s tall solar magnate towers at around 250 meters ( 820 foot ) tall . It ’s palisade by a sea of 50,000 mirrors that concentrate the sun to the tower like an uttermost reading of those people who practice enhancer cones to meditate more sun to tan their faces .
It takes a banging amount of ruminative mirror to catch enough twinkle to be ensure by the ISS in the daylight . As it happen , it takes certain luck for citizenry back on Earth to be able to spy the astronauts doing their thing on the ISS , too .
Back in March 2020 , a German photographer managed tosnap the ISS from his backyard . In March of this year , an astrophotographer actuallycaptured two astronauts out on a spacewalkfrom the ground in Germany , possibly the first clock time anyone has ever done that .
