NHK astronaut grabs 4K footage of comet ISON
December 3, 2013
By Chris Forrester
Japanese TV will this week show footage of last week’s Comet ISON captured in 4K by astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata was aboard the International Space Station and used a specially developed, and ultra-sensitive, 4K camera to video the comet and its surrounding aurora.
The images are a world’s first for shooting 4K in outer space. The results will be screened during a live transmission from the Space Station on December 4th at 7.30pm Japan time on public broadcasting’s NHK special telecast.
Astronaut Wakata said: “I was surprised by the beauty and clarity of views on the monitor when I was taking 4K images of the comet ISON and the aurora. From the ISS, you can see the depth of star-filled space in 3D perspective, and you can feel just how enormous space is. I am looking forward to showing viewers many extraordinary images.”
The special camera was sent into space on August 4th by Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).