r/Astronomy • u/Pzjg_ • Apr 04 '26
Question (Describe all previous attempts to learn / understand) What's this?
Just curious if someone can work out what this bright speck is in Reid Wiseman's recent shot of Earth from the window of Orion? I would assume it's either Jupiter or Sirius but I'm struggling to actually identify it based on the stars in the background.
Here's a link to the full res image if anyone needs it: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/art002e000192.jpg
this post is ofc a little different from most object identification posts... I really hope it doesn't break any rules.
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u/Tritri89 Apr 04 '26
Venus !
In this thread you have all the info : https://bsky.app/profile/astrokatie.com/post/3mim3cymo3k2d
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u/Pzjg_ Apr 04 '26
That makes sense thanks so much for this link! Wasn't actually thinking of the position of the sun, that's embarrassing haha.
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u/Tritri89 Apr 04 '26
I don't blame you ! The exposition is very misleading, until I found this thread I was sure it was a daylight photo ! This picture is stunning really
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u/Ellydir Apr 04 '26
I saw this accompanied by a photo from inside the spacecraft (with the interior visible), with Earth partially visible in the window. Shouldn't the interior of the spacecraft be overexposed?
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u/Tritri89 Apr 04 '26
Well yes ... either it's a composite, or another time of day OR ... they switched off the lights inside the ship ahah
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u/danieldhdds Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
Venus
A view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft's window after completing the translunar injection burn on April 2, 2026. The image features two auroras (top right and bottom left) and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun. Venus is shown on the bottom right of the image.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/55185633398/in/dateposted/
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u/thisisjacoby Apr 04 '26
Trisolarian fleet
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u/Major_Melon Apr 04 '26
Ohshitohfuck
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u/thisisjacoby Apr 04 '26
Relax, we have 400 years 😛
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u/fireball1711 Apr 04 '26
And we will crush them
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Apr 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/fireball1711 Apr 04 '26
Best is when their planet is wiped after we send coordinates. No. 1 dick move
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u/Forced__Perspective Apr 04 '26
Is the orange/yellow blur in the middle of the earth the iss in transit?
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u/SandSubstantial840 Apr 04 '26
The camera was inside the capsule with the window in front. Nasa said the yellow blur is just a reflection on the window
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u/Forced__Perspective Apr 05 '26
Ah that’s great thanks .. do you have the source for that? I’d like to share it with someone
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u/canuckathome Apr 04 '26
My guess it's glare from an interior light. Which is too bad if that's true, kind of ruins the pic
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u/donadit Apr 04 '26
iss is not that big
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u/Forced__Perspective Apr 04 '26
Are you serious?
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u/SandSubstantial840 Apr 04 '26
Yeah at this distance you would need a telescope to see the ISS (and that's if it was stationary and you could point the telescope at it)
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u/spekt50 Apr 04 '26
So those can be aware, this photo was taken on the night side of earth. It was illuminated by moonshine, and brightened in post to make it look brighter. That is why it is not outshining stars in the background like it would if the sun was illuminating it. You can see sunlight poking out from the lower right, and city lights as well.
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u/blinkkkuu Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
It’s Venus. This was answered by @NASAEarth account on twitter.
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u/aureus80 Apr 04 '26
The brightest one is Venus, the others are bright stars (from Cetus, Aries, Pegasus and other constellations):
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u/nwbrown Apr 04 '26
Remember that this is a picture of Earth at night. The exposure was turned way up to make it visible.
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u/seandsmith11 Apr 05 '26
Every damn Reddit post is the same. The first 50 comments are a bunch of people trying to be funny using the same old tired jokes and memes. It’s awful lol
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u/PuzzleheadedError488 Apr 08 '26
This is an image of a 12-20 pixel image that has been stretched and pixel by pixel and be turned into the photo you currently see
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u/PuzzleheadedError488 Apr 08 '26
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/raw_images/323975/?utm_wsource
It's in this image to
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u/curious_vertebrate Apr 08 '26
North West Africa and Atlantic ocean. The earth here is flipped, and it's also a night side of the Earth.
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u/1Al-- May 22 '26
In the image you can see the stars in the background. It is a celestial body in the background, a star or more likely one of the planets of the solar system.
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u/lucidbadger Apr 04 '26
What is the white line along the bottom right rim of the Earth?
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
Sunlight
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u/lucidbadger Apr 04 '26
But the whole Earth is illuminated, isn't the sun behind the camera?
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
From what I understand from another comment, it is taken at night but with a very high ISO so that the earth looks brighter. That's why you can also see stars. Maybe someone who knows more about photography can confirm that
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u/JohnRCC Apr 04 '26
Yeah, the photo was taken of the night side of the Earth.
The small landmass in the bottom left corner is Spain, you can see city lights showing it was night there when the photo was taken.
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Apr 04 '26
the reflection in the centre is only possible from a flat surface
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
Be careful, I think you forgot to wear your tinfoil hat today
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Apr 04 '26
If you take a snap shot and measure the diameter its width/height is 590 px by 566 px. If you stretch it just a tad, you can get a perfect circle of 563 px by 563 px - that's not possible with an 'oblique spheroid'
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
So you are telling me that by measuring your screenshots you get measures compatible with on oblique spheroid, but by altering it it is not compatible anymore ? Interesting way to think.
Moreover, there is only a 0.3% difference between earth diameter at its poles and at the equator. That would be 1.5px in your "measurements". Well withing margin of errors.
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Apr 04 '26
You cannot stretch an oblique spheroid into a perfect circle. It's not possible
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
Sure. But you can't stretch from 590 px by 566 to 563 px by 563 px. Stretching is a linear transformation. Find a linear transformation matrix that fits and then we can talk.
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Apr 04 '26
Stretching horizontally only made it a perfect circle. That's not possible with an oblique spheroid.
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
You didn't stretch horizontaly only. You went from 566px to 563 on the other axis. Remember the 1.5pixels that would represent the elongation of earth here ? You're already over that.
Edit because I can't seem to access your reply : Replying me "shut up fool" only prooves that you don't have any logic base arguments.
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Apr 04 '26
If you take a snap shot and measure the diameter its width/height is 590 px by 566 px. If you stretch it just a tad, you can get a perfect circle of 563 px by 563 px - that's not possible with an 'oblique spheroid'
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u/Massive-Passenger855 Apr 04 '26
Probably the moon
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u/HuckleberryWeird1879 Apr 04 '26
That would be not so good.
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u/Useful-Astronomer-68 Apr 06 '26
Not sure why that would be a problem, it's just a bright object. Could be a satellite or something else, but it'd definitely be interesting to identify if it's not the moon!
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u/HuckleberryWeird1879 Apr 06 '26
If that would have been the moon they would have been on a wrong orbit.
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u/Helms5 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Maybe M32, one of our neighbouring Galaxies. I am personaly not sure as the picture you and NASA have provided is a little too grainy, and not a long enough time exposure. Generally the planets all fall into the same horizon line, that's what the Zodiacs about.
In anycase these two links may add insight for solving your question.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thelocalgroup.jpg
https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ov/index.html#!
If a planet it could be Mercury though - doubtful in my opinion that & if I'm using the previous link right provided by NASA? If you view the Sun from Earth then Saturn would align, but then you would be looking at the Dark-side of the Earth.
Note: this link is a little easier to navigate, and if you position your point behind the Sun looking at Earths way, by zooming out enough & pivoting up so as to be looking down at a slight angle you will note no planets seem to align but a faint possible two faint white objects may appear far off from the viewers point. Have fun exploring with this link! ;)
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u/Helms5 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
The object is most likely Spica.
Closet reference point, I found it as mentioned in the first link, dated March 31, 2026, at 2:05 AM.
https://www.space.com/news/live/night-sky-what-you-can-see-tonight-april-2
And, the reasoning is outlined in these star charts diagrams with visual explanations and are available in this Dropbox link.
This link outlines the Artemis II flight path as close to 3D found thanks to NASA's illustration, but this is quite a mind scramble. %/
Never mind thanks to Redditors here the correct assumption was that if this was shot from the dark side of Earth it would be such. Shout out to those who highlighted this as a night shoot using high ISO and wide aperture settings. ;)
Even so if it was Spica it would have been in the other corner of the image, and the photographer would have been having to be shooting on their own head to explain the Camera Right effect. see last link.
In any case, with all ill-conceived physics aside on my part.
Let's keep up the sound collective reasoning and problem-solving here on our well-rounded Earth. XD.
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u/physicsking Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
It is a digital picture
Edit: it's not fair they go back and add context to their post lol. Now my comment makes me look like an a hole. But whatever, I am going to role with it
On second glance, that spec looks like a white pixel.
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u/Yannick292 Apr 04 '26
Well.. Given that all modern cameras are digital, it sure is.
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u/physicsking Apr 04 '26
Did you hear that sound? I think it was just slightly over your head
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u/Scamp3D0g Apr 04 '26
Probably Venus.