A Millisecond Moment: When The Moon And Space Station Eclipse The Sun

French photographer Thierry Legault knew he had .86 seconds to get the shot. He'd flown to the Sultanate of Oman for the perfect vantage point. January 4th that part of the world saw a partial solar eclipse, but Legault, who's a veteran astrophotographer, didn't want just a spectacular shot of the moon crossing in front of the sun. No, he wanted to capture that millisecond moment when the moon and the International Space Station eclipsed the sun at the same time. He explained the logistics of getting the shot to us:

I used one telescope (one is already difficult to carry by airplane with the luggage limitations!). I used a reflex camera in continuous shooting. The timing and placing (my position on the ground must be accurate at better than two to three kilometers along the passage line) was calculated with a special site and checked with a GPS. This needs a lot of preparation in advance, and also a lot of training with the equipment.

But just look at the unbelievable picture all that planning produced. Make sure to click here to see the full-size version.