April 26, 2002
Somewhere above you, light is arriving from places so distant their names feel like poetry.
Comet Ikeya-Zhang Meets The ISS
Birthday · April 26, 2002
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published April 26, 2002. Credit: Carol Lakomiak. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Still catching the Sun's rays, the International Space Station (ISS) cruises across the early evening sky above Tomahawk, Wisconsin, USA. Recorded on April 9 around 9 pm CDT in a 30 second exposure, the sunlit space station traced this bright streak moving east (right) through the constellation Cassiopeia. Below lies Comet Ikeya-Zhang sporting a visible tail. But while this photogenic comet is now fading from view, the ISS will be getting brighter. Hours after this picture was taken, the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the ISS, bringing another structure to add to the growing orbital outpost.
Image credit: Carol Lakomiak