&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Like watching a living galaxy unfurl beneath you': Shubhanshu Shukla shares breathtaking Diwali spectacle of India from space station. Watch video")
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla gave the world a stunning view of Diwali from space, sharing a video that shows India aglow with festival lights from hundreds of kilometres above Earth. The clip, posted on X (formerly Twitter), on Monday (Oct 20) quickly went viral, captivating millions with its cosmic perspective of the festival of lights. Check it out here.
India a 'jewel'
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Diwali shared an "out of this world" video of India as it looks from the space. It was captured from the space station’s observation module during Shukla's 18-day orbital mission earlier this year. The video sweeps across the subcontinent from southwest to northeast.
Also read | Delhi Diwali fires break previous records: Firefighters spend festival night fighting over 400 fires
The video shows Indian cities sparkling like constellations, with major cities including Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and New Delhi appearing. Shukla described the sight poetically: "Flying over India from space — from the sunlit southwest to the misty northeast — is like watching a living galaxy unfurl beneath you. You don’t just see it; you feel it in every fibre of your being."
The video isn’t just a celebration of human lights. Nature also makes a cameo. Flashes of lightning over the Bay of Bengal and central India, which Shukla described as “purple flares,” also made a spectacular appearance in the video: "Nature's own pyrotechnics reminding you who the original artist of light truly is".
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Watch it here:
As the spacecraft drifts northward, the scene changes. Bright city lights give way to the dark silhouettes of the Himalayas, followed by the ethereal spectacle of an orbital sunrise casting soft blue hues across the upper atmosphere. "The Himalayas emerge — a silent, solemn silhouette against the void. And just beyond, a soft blue whisper of light rises — the orbital sunrise."
"Up there, watching this grand spectacle unfold, you can’t help but smile," said Shukla, adding "This isn’t just Diwali on Earth — it’s Diwali of Earth. The festival of lights, written across an entire nation, glowing proudly on a cosmic stage." For viewers the video offered a rare, unifying perspective — a reminder of the beauty and scale of Diwali, and the shared wonder of seeing it from beyond the skies.
