![Encounter Within One Second ? Zhang Yanguang This image captures the International Space Station (ISS) transiting across the solar disc. The solar background was captured separately with double-stacked etalon[an optical filter that isolates specific wavelengths, used to observe solar details], and reveals high-contrast chromospheric details. The imaging sequences were strategically combined during post-processing to preserve both the spacecraft?s crisp silhouette and the Sun?s intricate surface features. Taken with a Takahashi Teegul 60 telescope, Coronado SolarMax 60 double stacked, Vixen polaris mount, Player One Astronomy Neptune-M camera, 500 mm f/8.3, 0.3-millisecond exposure Location: Xiamen, Fujian, China, 24 January 2025](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/15105751/SEI_258290913.jpg)
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Otherworldly space images from a major photography competition
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Matthew Sparkes
Technology reporter
London
Bio
Matthew Sparkes is a science and technology reporter who first wrote for ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ in 2006 and currently covers robotics, quantum computing, AI and mathematics. Previously he wrote for The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and he has a BSc and MSc from the University of East Anglia, where he studied AI and computer science.
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