Amazing Telescopic Pictures Of The Space Station And A Cargo Ship Heading That Way

by Elizabeth Howell on August 8, 2014

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Photos of the International Space Station taken from the ground, using a 10-inch Newtonian telescope and monochromatic camera. Credit: Ralf Vandebergh

Here’s your morning photographic space delight: the International Space Station and the last European automated transfer vehicle (ATV), Georges Lemaître, taken using a camera and 10-inch Newtonian telescope.
The photographer, Ralf Vandebergh, captured these images as the ATV flew to the space station. The ATV launched flawlessly on July 30 and is expected to meet up with the station on Aug. 12. Check out pictures of the cargo vehicle below the jump.

The vehicle will stay docked to the space station for six months before making a planned re-entry in the atmosphere with a load of trash. The European Space Agency plans to track its fiery destruction to better design cargo vehicles in the future.