Usually, the International Space Station (ISS) can only be observed at night. The ISS orbits Earth and slowly crosses the night sky, appearing as a bright point in various regions about once a month.
The ISS shines with reflected sunlight, so it can only be seen just after sunset or just before sunrise. When the ISS enters Earth's shadow, it disappears from view. The only time the ISS is visible during the day is when it passes directly in front of the sun. At this time, the ISS moves very quickly, so only cameras with short exposure times can capture the silhouette of the ISS clearly against the sun's background.
This photo captures just such a moment, consisting of a series of images taken a month ago in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain, at the perfect moment. Subsequently, these images were combined with separate images highlighting the textures of an active sun, which included several solar flares at the edge of the sun.