Transit of International Space Station over Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram

Yesterday I got a chance to capture the transit of International Space Station. The iridium flare was too faint due to the light pollution in the foreground.

In the foreground, you can see the iconic water tank of Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram – the largest IT hub in INDIA.

Here are more specs regarding the transit,

Date	Visible	Max Height*	Appears	Disappears
Wed Jan 15, 6:52 PM	6 min	62°	10° above SSW	11° above NE

Annular Solar Eclipse From Thiruvananthapuram

26th Dec was a luck day For Keralites to capture the Annular Solar Eclipse.

So what is an annular solar eclipse?

An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon covers the Sun’s center, leaving the Sun’s visible outer edges to form a “ring of fire” or annulus around the Moon. The characteristic “ring of fire”. The ring of fire marks the maximum stage of an annular solar eclipse. (Ref)

So I too got a chance to capture the rare moment, even though our location is only having partial eclipse.

and here is my pic…

Date: 26th Dec 2019

Time: 8:00 AM to 11:15 AM
Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India (8.5241° N, 76.9366° E)
Gear: Nikon D610 + 300MM + 1.4 TC with DIY Filter, Smart Camera Assistant, Tripod

More Pics:

And the next Annular Eclipse through Kerala will be on 2031.

Rare planet alignment Mars-Venus-Saturn-Jupiter from Thiruvananthapuram Kerala INDIA

For the first time in more than a decade, ‪#‎Mercury‬, ‪#‎Mars‬, ‪#‎Venus‬, ‪#‎Saturn‬ and ‪#‎Jupiter‬ — the five ‪#‎planets‬ bright enough to be seen with an unaided eye — was visible at once in the sky.

Missing mercury in the image because the sky was super cloudy and mercury was too faint. The image looks too wide as Venus and Jupiter were at both ends of the field.

Mercury will appear lowest to the horizon, and its faint light will be hardest to spot in the southeastern sky (in the Northern Hemisphere). Then, from left to right (from southeast to southwest), you’ll be able to see Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter, in a line that roughly traces the path the sun will take through the day.

 

The image is taken from the top of Thejaswini Building, Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, INDIA at 5:40AM on 20th Jan 2016.

Blood Moon from Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram

Blood Moon is sometimes used to describe a Total Lunar Eclipse. When the Earth casts its shadow on a Full Moon and eclipses it, the Moon may get a red glow.

Below is a composite photograph by me, which shows how a Blood Moon will look like when viewed from Kerala, Southern State of INDIA.

The image is taken in front of The World's Richest Temple Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temeple, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala. 

In recent years, the term Blood Moon has been frequently used to refer to total lunar eclipses. Some sources suggest that the term stems from the Bible. Christian pastors Mark Blitz and John Hagee claim that the eclipses of the 2014-2015 lunar tetrad fulfill a Biblical prophecy of forthcoming difficult and trying times.

Astronomers do not use Blood Moon as a scientific term. However, it is possible that the term came to describe total lunar eclipses because of the reddish color the eclipsed Moon takes on during totality. This happens because of Rayleigh scattering, the same mechanism that causes colorful sunrises and sunsets.


The full Moon of September 27/28 is a Supermoon – the Moon will be closest to the Earth. or at its perigee, as it turns into a full Moon. A rising Super Full Moon can look larger and brighter to spectators on Earth.

Total eclipses of Super Full Moons are rare. According to NASA, they have only occurred 5 times in the 1900s – in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982. After the September 27/ 28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse, a Supermoon eclipse will not happen again for another 18 years, until October 8, 2033.

This is how Blood Moon from Trivandrum will look like.