It takes about 92 minutes for the International Space Station to do a lap around Earth . In this , the first Vine from space , cosmonaut Reid Wiseman condenses one orbital cavity into the dyad of about six seconds . But there ’s something unusual about this timelapse .
https://vine.co/v/MD1eEQEjM9u/embed/simple
crowd extremity aboard the ISS can watch as many as 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24 hr period . But , as Wiseman take down in his Vine , the view from distance alteration considerably when the Space Station ’s orbit comes into alignment with the day / night terminator line , i.e. the barrier between light and black on the airfoil of the Earth .
The slant between Earth ’s rotational axis and the plane in which it orbits the Lord’s Day is 23.4 ° . This “ axile tilt ” causes one pole to be pointed toward the Sun on one side of the planet ’s electron orbit and the other pole on the other side . This intend that the orientation of the mean solar day / night terminator line is incessantly change . ( It also gives our planet its time of year . ) In the footage above , the orientation of the terminator line along Earth ’s surface can be seen cycling through two solstice and two equinox in its annual , metronomic dance .
In the image above , the orbit of the ISS appear in red and the day / nighttime terminator in dark blue . When the two align , cosmonaut aboard the ISS experience a never - setting sun . This happens in the weeks bookending the summer solstice , the date on which Earth ’s North terminal is tilt the full 23.4 degree toward the sunshine . ( This year ’s summertime solstice will pass on June 21st.)When this slant is added to the Space Station ’s orbital tilt ( i.e. the slant at which a orbiter revolve relative to Earth ’s equator , which , for the ISS , is 51.65 ° ) , the ISS head off Earth ’s tail entirely , and you get a sight like the one captivate by Wiseman . More detailed explanations existfor those unintimidated by orbital mechanics , but I ’m fond ofthis descriptionfrom astronomy blogger Bob King :
ground ’s axis of rotation point off to the left with the northern hemisphere tilted toward the Lord’s Day . The exterminator is the bound between day and night on the planet , and the equator cuts vertical to the axis . The outer space place ’s tipped sphere spot it very near the eradicator this time of class , high enough for it to view the sun ’s ray all night long .
completely , not a bad field at all for account ’s first space - Vine . freehanded property to Wiseman for this one .
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