August 2, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Picture of the Day: Refractions in Space

by twistedsifter

 

REFRACTIONS IN SPACE

 

Bel in druppel. Nog even spelen met gewichtloosheid.

 

 

In this amazing shot we see an air bubble, inside a drop of water, suspended in space. Pretty much any photo shot in ‘zero gravity’ is cool by default, but when you incorporate a refraction (where an image reverses as it passes through another medium) into the mix, the results are guaranteed to please. Since the air bubble is a different medium from the water surrounding it, that is why we see the image flipped an additional time.

For a full explanation, check out this blog post on Discover Magazine.

André Kuipers is an ESA astronaut and the second Dutch person to ever fly in space. He has an amazing Flickr channel that is definitely worth checking out if you’re into space/science.