Another shining example of perfect timing and photographic expertise by Thierry Legault, this image shows the shuttle Atlantis as it somersaults in front of the International Space Station in order to have its underbelly checked out on May 16. Over 200 miles above the Earth, the ISS and Atlantis passed briefly in front of the Sun – like half-a-second briefly! – which was just enough time Legault needed to shoot this photo from his carefully-planned position in Madrid.

This is no lucky shot either…Thierry’s done this before. Fantastic work!

Click the image for the holy-crap full-size version, and be sure to read more on Thierry’s site or BadAstronomy.com (thanks to Phil for the post.)

Image ©Thierry Legault