The new astronaut. Does he know what he's doing?

[mistermack]

One of his answers in an interview, shortly after his arrival on the space station, made me sit up.

He was asked, "what has surprised you the most, about being in space?"

And he answered that it was the sheer blackness of space. He wasn't ready for just how dark black space actually is, when you look away from the direction of the Earth.

Surely, that's because the windows must have a protective tint? If I look at the sky, on a clear moonless night, the last thing I notice is blackness, if i'm away from the city, and clear of light pollution.
The sky is a blaze of stars and planets, and you would see that even better, if you were out of the Earth's atmosphere. So for him to see it as black, there must be protective tinting in the windows.

That's ok, but the way that he said it seemed to suggest that he doesn't realise that space is in no way black, without any shielding.

[cronus]

One of his answers in an interview, shortly after his arrival on the space station, made me sit up.

He was asked, "what has surprised you the most, about being in space?"

And he answered that it was the sheer blackness of space. He wasn't ready for just how dark black space actually is, when you look away from the direction of the Earth.

Surely, that's because the windows must have a protective tint? If I look at the sky, on a clear moonless night, the last thing I notice is blackness, if i'm away from the city, and clear of light pollution.
The sky is a blaze of stars and planets, and you would see that even better, if you were out of the Earth's atmosphere. So for him to see it as black, there must be protective tinting in the windows.

That's ok, but the way that he said it seemed to suggest that he doesn't realise that space is in no way black, without any shielding.

Maybe he should switch the lights off in there?

[JimC]

"A black darker than Scumple's heart"

[pErvinalia]

Maybe he meant the bit between the stars.

[mistermack]

Maybe he meant the bit between the stars.

No, I don't think so. It looks all black in the photos that they are publishing.



I think the photos are also affected by the brightness of the Earth affecting the electronic shutter speed, (whatever they call it now).
But that wouldn't come into play when you look away from the Earth, which is what he's talking about.

“We always talk about seeing the view of planet Earth and how beautiful it is,” Peake said as he floated in the station. “But what people don’t mention as much is that when you look in the opposite direction and you see how dark it is ... I mean, it’s the blackest black.”

That's not how I would describe the night sky, when there is no light-pollution.
Generally, the gaps between the stars are full of fainter stars. It would be hard to find a black bit.

[Tero]

Space is deep. Is there medical marijuana in space? You need it for Hawkwind.

[cronus]

That's ISS territory up there. Lucky he's still got his head attached....

[cronus]

That's ISS territory up there. Lucky he's still got his head attached....

[Jason]

One of his answers in an interview, shortly after his arrival on the space station, made me sit up.

He was asked, "what has surprised you the most, about being in space?"

And he answered that it was the sheer blackness of space. He wasn't ready for just how dark black space actually is, when you look away from the direction of the Earth.

Surely, that's because the windows must have a protective tint? If I look at the sky, on a clear moonless night, the last thing I notice is blackness, if i'm away from the city, and clear of light pollution.
The sky is a blaze of stars and planets, and you would see that even better, if you were out of the Earth's atmosphere. So for him to see it as black, there must be protective tinting in the windows.

That's ok, but the way that he said it seemed to suggest that he doesn't realise that space is in no way black, without any shielding.

The glass in the viewing cupola on the ISS is clear - no shielding or tint.

[laklak]

It's A-Ok and Up, Up and Away for America's newest astronaut! When asked what surprised him the most about being in space, Ham said "Those fucking banana pellets taste like ass".

[mistermack]

The glass in the viewing cupola on the ISS is clear - no shielding or tint.

Any link for that?
If it's clear glass, I can't see how anyone can describe the view of space as black.
I've been out in the sticks on a clear night, away from light pollution and smog. The sky is an absolute blaze of stars.
Yes, the space is black in some areas. But that's not what catches your attention when there are so many stars of so many different intensities and colours, all of which should stand out much more in space.
And what about the Milky Way? Nobody could describe the Milky Way as surprisingly black.
Surprisingly bright is closer to the mark.

Maybe he kept his sun-glasses on?

Another odd thing about him was that he phoned his wife, from the space-station, and she was out, apparently shopping.
He got her answering machine.
Odd.

[Jason]

I've seen it a couple times during video tours of the ISS. There are shutters that close to protect the glass from being pitted by impact with debris in orbit, but that's it.

[mistermack]

I've seen it a couple times during video tours of the ISS. There are shutters that close to protect the glass from being pitted by impact with debris in orbit, but that's it.

How can you tell that the glass is clear?

[Jason]

Because they often show you the view looking out of it.

[Jason]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure rEv is correct - without the light scattering of the atmosphere the darkness between stars would appear immensely dark or, in other words, the contrast is unexpectedly great. I imagine this is especially true looking out the cupola when the ISS is in the shadow of Earth and with the blackout curtains drawn (curtains that block out the interior lights of the station so they don't interfere with viewing and photography).