An astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) recently shared a “interesting” daylight sight of a bright dot in the middle of Earth’s desert. “A bright dot in the Negev desert…unusual it’s to see man-made lights during the day!” Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) tweeted three photos of a distant white speck against a brown landscape.
Ms Cristoforetti provided some background information in the caption. “It’s a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies used to generate renewable solar energy. with one of the tallest solar power towers in the world, “She stated.
According to CNET, the bright dot was visible due to the Ashalim Solar Thermal Power Station, which uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight on an 820-foot-tall tower in Israel’s Negev desert. This structure is one of the world’s tallest solar power towers. It is large enough to produce the visible dot of light seen by Ms Cristoforetti from the ISS.
Ms Cristoforetti’s post also included the hashtag #MissionMinerva. Minerva is the name of her second ISS expedition. Ms Cristoforetti first flew to the Station in 2014 for her Italian Space Agency ASI-sponsored mission ‘Futura,’ according to the ESA website.
She was launched earlier this year as part of Crew-4 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft from Florida to serve as the lead for all US Orbital Segment (USOS) operations.
Meanwhile, Ms Cristoforetti’s tweet has gone viral since it was shared. One user commented on the post, saying, “A light of hope for our environment.” Another person stated, “It’s difficult to see from your photos, but it’s easier once you zoom in. In-person, I’m sure it’s very easy to spot. It most likely sparkles like a star on Earth.” “Very impressive,” said the third person. “What a view!” exclaimed the fourth.
