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Image captured from 400 km above Earth shows subcontinent glowing with city lights
March 11, 2026: The International Space Station (ISS) has shared a striking nighttime image of India captured from orbit, offering a glowing view of the subcontinent illuminated by thousands of city lights. The photograph, taken as the station passed over the Arabian Sea and the Himalayas, shows India shining beneath a dark sky with clusters of lights forming a web-like pattern across the landscape. “The well-lit nighttime cityscape of India pictured from the International Space Station as it soared over the Arabian Sea and across the Himalayas,” the ISS said in a post on X.
Astronauts aboard the ISS frequently photograph Earth while orbiting the planet around 16 times each day. From an altitude of nearly 400 kilometres above the surface, the crew captures images of cities, coastlines and weather systems during each orbit, offering unique perspectives of different regions of the world.
Nighttime images of India taken from space often attract significant attention online. Earlier in 2025, NASA shared another nighttime photograph of the country taken from the ISS. Astronauts of Indian origin, including Sunita Williams and Shubhanshu Shukla, have also spoken about spotting the subcontinent from orbit, with Shukla previously sharing a timelapse video showing India illuminated at night.