A striking nighttime image of India captured from orbit has been shared by the International Space Station (ISS), a glowing view of the subcontinent illuminated by thousands of city lights.

The photograph was posted on the ISS’s official account on X. It shows India shining under a dark sky as the spacecraft passed over the Arabian Sea and the Himalayan region. From space, clusters of lights appear spread across the landscape, forming a web-like pattern that outlines cities and populated areas across the country.

India illuminated at night

In the image shared by the ISS, the subcontinent appears bright against the surrounding darkness, with dense pockets of lights marking major urban centres. The view was captured as the station moved across the Arabian Sea before continuing toward the Himalayan region.

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Posting the images, ISS wrote on X, "The well-lit nighttime cityscape of India pictured from the International Space Station as it soared over the Arabian Sea and across the Himalayas."

Astronauts aboard the ISS frequently photograph Earth during their missions. Orbiting the planet at an altitude of roughly 400 kilometres, the space station circles Earth about 16 times a day. This orbit allows crew members to capture changing views of continents, oceans, weather systems and city lights from space.

Similar views shared earlier

Earlier in 2025, NASA released another nighttime photograph of India taken from the ISS. The image showed the country glowing beneath a sky filled with stars and was part of a broader series of orbital photographs shared on social media.

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Indian-origin astronauts have also spoken about the view of India from space. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who has spent more than 300 days aboard the ISS across multiple missions, has previously said that India is often visible during night passes because of its bright city lights.

More recently, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who travelled to the ISS in 2025, shared a timelapse video showing the subcontinent illuminated at night, offering another view of India as seen from orbit.