Lost astronaut tool bag from ISS shines in new telescope image (photo)

[usonian]

A lost tool bag in space shines brightly in a new image taken from Rome.

Two astronauts spacewalking on the International Space Station harmlessly lost grip of a tool bag during a Nov. 1 spacewalk. The shiny object, visible in binoculars, showed up in footage taken by the Virtual Telescope Project on Wednesday (Nov. 15).

"The image above comes from a single 2-second exposure," project founder Gianluca Masi wrote in a statement, alongside the image. "The object looks like a sharp dot of light in the center, as the telescope tracked it, so stars left long trails on the background."

You can track the ISS (and the nearby toolbag) at NASA https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/tracking_map.cfm or by downloading the same app on Apple or Google Play.

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2023/11/10/how-to-find-tool-bag-from-international-space-station-dropped-by-nasa-astronauts/71522477007/

According to EarthSky, follow the trajectory of the ISS and scan the sky in the area just ahead of the space station. As the tool bag gradually loses height, it should appear between two and four minutes ahead of the ISS during the next few days.