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Every time we look out this window or we look out the windows
in the cupola, we're absolutely amazed.
And the same thing goes for being aboard the space shuttle.
And I would say that two nights ago I probably saw the most amazing thing I've ever seen
in space, and that's saying an awful lot because every day is filled with amazing things.
And that was as we were flying over Tasmania, we'd actually just seen the storms
in the South Pacific over the Philippines.
And it was nighttime, thunderstorms lighting up the entire sky,
and then just before the sun came up, the Earth's limb was, you know,
lit up as a sliver of blue and purple.
And then there was a long green arc that extended probably 10° or so from the horizon.
Actually from the perspective of the cupola, which, in which case we're upside down, up,
you know, in my field of view upwards.
In fact it disappeared behind the JEM.
At least 10° I think, 20 Earth or 20 moon diameters, if you think about it
in those terms, and I had no idea what it was.
It was a long, green glowing arc.
And it turns out, it ended up being a comet that somebody
in Tasmania had seen about the same time.
Comet Lovejoy, that had passed about 140,000 km from the surface of the sun.
When it disappeared behind the sun, I think astronomers thought it would not appear again.
It probably would burn up.
But it's probably the most spectacular thing you can imagine.
And from the vantage point of space, it's different than seeing it from planet Earth
because there's no intervening atmosphere to see.
So we took some really neat pictures last night,
about 100 or so that we hope to make a movie out of.
But just wanted to toss that out in case you were interested.
It's quite a place.