European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was in the International Space Station (ISS) 250 miles above Earth when she spotted an "intriguing" bright light in the middle of the Negev desert, as per Digital Trends.
The ESA astronaut shared photos of the "intriguing" bright light in her Twitter explaining the mystery behind it. She noted how unusual it is to observe such bright light during the day.
Mystery of the 'Intriguing Light' Answered
"Intriguing sight! A bright dot in the Negev desert...so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes!" Cristoforetti tweeted.
Intriguing sight! A bright dot in the Negev desert…so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes! It’s a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies to get renewable energy from the Sun. With one of the world’s tallest solar power towers! #MissionMinerva pic.twitter.com/MFbCpXpxmG
— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) August 25, 2022
She conducted some research about the "intriguing" bright light and she was able to identify its source, solving the mystery behind it.
According to Cristoforetti, the bright spot was coming from a tower at a solar thermal power plant in Israel's Negev desert, as per North Carolina Time.
"It's a concentrated solar power plant, one of the technologies to get renewable energy from the Sun. With one of the world's tallest solar power towers!" said Cristoforetti in a tweet.
What the ESA astronaut spotted is the Ashalim Solar Thermal Power Station. The power station is comprised of more than 50,000 computer-controlled heliostats, or mirrors, as per Digital Trends. At its center is a 250-meter-high solar power tower.
According to Digital Trends, the mirrors in the power station track the sun. It then reflects its light onto a boiler at the top of the tower, which in turn produces steam to power a turbine.
Reportedly, the power station produces sufficient energy that can supply power to around 70,000 households.
Based on the press release issued by the National Infrastructure Minister of Israel, there are several motivations for building the establishment.
The first one is economic motivation, as building the power station reduce the imports thus balancing the trade and releasing foreign currency.
Next is political motivation because having the power station reduce strategic dependence on foreign energy sources. It is also made because of environmental motivation, since it reduces contamination levels.
Lastly, it was built for scientific motivation. Building the power station means pushing forward local technology and science, and adapting new technologies from abroad.
Read Also: ESA Plans To Build A Village In The Moon
ISS Astronauts Take Photos from Outer Space and Share Them
According to Digital Trends, ISS astronauts like to go to the station's seven-window Cupola module during their downtime.
In the Cupola module, they like to take photos of the amazing panoramic views of Earth and beyond. Some astronauts, like Cristoforetti, like using ISS's Nikon DSLR cameras to take some of the extraordinary scenery that they can view from space.
Aside from mysterious bright lights, astronauts aboard the ISS also get an overview of the Earth as the planet struggles amid the warming climate.
Cristoforetti shares on her Twitter account on August 2 another photo taken from ISS revealing a massive cloud of smoke rising from a wildfire. The wild fire has been devouring a rye field in western Poland on the last weekend of July.
"We spotted a huge wildfire near Nowa Wieś Zbąska, Poland, this weekend," Cristoforetti said in her tweet. She noted that the local news said the fire destroyed over 50 hectares of grain.
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