As India celebrated Diwali with lights and joy, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla gave the country a cosmic gift. He shared a mesmerizing video showing India glowing brightly as seen from space. The video, taken during his orbital mission earlier this year, captured the festival’s beauty from hundreds of kilometers above Earth.
The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter), quickly went viral, gathering millions of views and reactions. People called it “the most beautiful Diwali gift from space.”
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 peninsula glows like a jewel. To the left, Pune sparkles; below, Bengaluru… pic.twitter.com/ZWfwWFlz9R
— Shubhanshu Shukla (@gagan_shux) October 20, 2025
A Dazzling View from Orbit
The short clip, filmed from the space station’s observation module, pans slowly across India. It begins over the sunlit southwest and moves toward the misty northeast, showing the entire subcontinent sparkling under the night sky.
In his post, Shukla — fondly known as “Shux” — described the breathtaking scene, “Flying over India from space — from the sunlit southwest to the misty northeast — is like watching a living galaxy unfurl beneath you.”
He added that the country’s glow stood out clearly even from orbit. “The peninsula glows like a jewel,” he wrote. “Pune sparkles; Bengaluru and Hyderabad shimmer like constellations drawn by human hands.”
Nature’s Own Light Show
The video also captured flashes of lightning over the Bay of Bengal and central India, a mix of human celebration and nature’s beauty. Shukla poetically wrote, “Purple flares, nature’s own pyrotechnics reminding you who the original artist of light truly is.”
As the camera moved north, the glow of New Delhi appeared faintly on the horizon. “And far on the horizon, a faint yet familiar gleam, New Delhi makes its presence known,” he added.
Diwali of Earth
The astronaut ended his post with an emotional reflection that touched millions, “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.”
His message reminded everyone how the festival connects light, life, and hope, not just across India, but beyond the planet itself.
Shubhanshu Shukla’s video turned Diwali into a moment shared between Earth and space, making this year’s celebration truly out of this world.
