International Space Station streaks through sky as Telford reader captures craft on camera

Jason Garpon took the image as the craft passed above his house in Telford, some 220 miles up.

"I have seen it before but not that close – and never that bright," said Mr Garpon.

"It has just been a faint dot in the sky before. Over the next week it is supposed to be even brighter and more visible.

"I knew that it was due to be coming over at 11.02pm so I got up and set up the camera on my drive at the right angle and waited for it to put on its display. It was certainly worth the wait."

Mr Garpon took the picture on Tuesday night using his DSLR camera, but as it was only in the sky for 70 seconds, it had to be taken on a long exposure.

He said: "If I could have captured it as a single object, that would've been great."

Peter Gunn, chairman of the Shropshire Astronomical Society, said: "It was visible only for two minutes which indicates it was quite low down in terms of the horizon as people were seeing it.

"It depends on the orbit, but when it is following that particular orbit within the area of the UK it will be visible usually for several days."

Mr Gunn said the easiest way for people to find out when it will be in the area is to use online tracker websites.

Meanwhile Shropshire stargazers will be wowed over the coming days when an annual meteor shower lights up the sky.

Mark Wiggin from Shropshire Astronomical society said the Perseid Meteor Shower "is sort of like a cosmic firework display".

"The phenomenon is caused by the earth travelling through the path of the Swift-Tuttle comet. As pieces of comet go through the atmosphere, they burn up and cause a shooting-star effect."

Mr Wiggin said the peak of the display will be August 12 but people should be able to see it until about August 15.

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