NASA Astronaut Shares Pic Of Lightning At Night Over India Taken From Space

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regularly captures stunning images of our universe, leaving space lovers mesmerized. The social media handles of the US Space Agency are a treasure trove for those who love to watch educational videos and fascinating images showcasing Earth and space. Now, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is aboard the International Space Station recently shared an incredible picture of India taken from space.

It shows a beautiful shot of the Earth from space. What is intriguing is a "single lightning strike" captured in the photo.

Lightning at night over India.

When trying to capture lighting in an image I use burst mode and hope lighting strikes in the frame. I was super happy when this lightning strike ended up in the middle of the frame. No crop needed.

1/5s, 85mm, f1.4, ISO 6400 pic.twitter.com/OTSVLSBcQP

— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) August 17, 2024

"Lightning at night over India. When trying to capture lighting in an image I use burst mode and hope lighting strikes in the frame. I was super happy when this lightning strike ended up in the middle of the frame. No crop needed. It displays a stunning view of Earth as seen from space. A 'single lightning strike' that was caught in the picture," Mr Dominick said in the caption on X (formerly Twitter).

In the comments, he explained that the bottom middle of the image shows the "lights from boats in the waters that look like short little lines or streaks." He added, "The streaks are caused by the space station's orbital speed and the distance the space station moves in 1/5s (camera's exposure time). The blur over the city in the left/middle of the frame is likely light haze and/or clouds combined with streaking from orbital speed."

Since being shared, the post has amassed over a thousand likes and 99,000 views on the microblogging platform.

"Incredible picture!" said a user.

"Wow !! Never seen before," added another person.

Another said, "This is one of the most interesting photos I have seen in my life."

"That's a powerful photograph," remarked a fourth person.

"Spectacular," wrote another X user.