A National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut shared a spectacular photo of India from space, showing a rare and striking view of a single lightning bolt illuminating the night sky.

In an X post on August 17, astronaut Matthew Dominick shared the extraordinary photograph taken from space. The image, which has garnered over one million views so far, featured a singular lightning strike, perfectly framed against the backdrop of Earth.

“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,” the caption of the post reads.

Take a look at the post here:

In response to comments, Dominick further elaborated on the details of the image. He pointed out that the “lights from boats in the waters” appeared as short streaks due to the International Space Station’s (ISS) rapid orbital speed and the camera’s exposure time of 1/15th of a second.

“In the bottom middle of the image you can see lights from boats in the waters that look like short little lines or streaks. 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).”

He further noted the presence of a blur over a city in the left-middle section of the image, which he attributed to a combination of light haze, clouds, and the ISS’s movement.

“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.”

Social media users have described the image as “one of the most interesting photos” they have seen. Here are a few comments from the now-viral post:

NASA often shares stunning imagery of Earth and space, and this image shared by Matthew Dominick is yet another example of the awe-inspiring moments that offer us a glimpse into the beauty and wonder of our universe.