Atlantis and ISS drift across the Sun

What a stunning picture. It shows space shuttle Atlantis (left) just after it detached from the International Space Station (ISS) on September 17. Taken from the ground in Normandy by astrophotograher Thierry Legault. Distance between Atlantis and the ISS is 200m and that white background is the Sun. The two spacecraft drifted across our star for barely a second, so this photograph is a technical masterpiece. As well as being, well, just awe-inspiring.

The full-sized picture is here, showing Atlantis and the ISS against the full backdrop of the Sun.