Mecca’s Kaaba shines bright from space, NASA astronaut shares stunning picture
Riyadh: NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who recently returned from the International Space Station (ISS), has shared a stunning image of Islam's holiest site, Mecca’s Kabba, from space, which appears illuminated like bright light even from 400 kilometers above the Earth.
Posting the image on X (formerly Twitter), Pettit wrote, "Orbital views of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The bright spot in the center is the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, visible even from space.”
Orbital views of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The bright spot in the center is the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, visible even from space. pic.twitter.com/yLSOnboOZC
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) December 1, 2025
Noted for his artistic space photography on his fourth ISS mission between September 2024 and April 2025, Pettit shot the scene from the station’s cupola window using a high-resolution Nikon camera.
The photo captures Mecca’s dense urban landscape set amid rugged valleys, along with the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) at its center.
The Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in black kiswah, stands out under constant floodlighting, its surface reflecting both sunlight and artificial light toward orbit, creating a striking light amid the surrounding hills and pilgrimage tents.
According to a report by India Today, from the ISS, cities such as Mecca appear as bright patches at night, their glow created by light pollution from millions of LEDs and sodium lamps that scatter through the atmosphere and remain visible to the station’s sensitive cameras.
The Kaaba stands out because the Grand Mosque is illuminated round the clock for prayer and Hajj pilgrims, a visibility further enhanced by the ISS’s 28,000 km/h orbital speed, which enables rapid captures during each pass over the Arabian Peninsula.
The post has captivated social media users across the world.
User @PaternalPath, wrote, “That’s a breathtaking sight. Really something else.”
Another wrote, “Beautiful. All religions should be respected, same for their sacred spots. I have a huge respect for The Saudis, the Arab people and all the Muslims around the world. May God bless and unite the Abrahamic faith, because we came from the same source. Let there be light. Amen.”
“From orbit, the Kaaba's glow hits different—like Earth's own eternal nightlight for the soul. Divine flex!,” remarked another.
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Indigo flights chaos: SCR to run special trains to clear passenger rush
Hyderabad (PTI): The South Central Railway on Saturday announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers resulting from the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights here.
The move comes as flyers face significant disruption and long queues at the airport due to the cancellation.
A press release from the SCR said it is running the special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar (Kolkata) from Hyderabad today.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 outbound Indigo flights were cancelled from here on Saturday, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport sources said.
Similarly, 26 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day, they said.
The flight cancellations drew ire from passengers, who thronged the IndiGo counters at the airport demanding to know the exact situation.
“This is utter nonsense! Digiyatra done, message received that departure has been rescheduled ahead of the scheduled departure and now upon arriving at Hyderabad airport coming to know at the security checkpoint that Indigo flight is cancelled,” Tarun Singha, former Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a post on X.
“But the thing is if you don’t shout they do nothing. Example at Hyderabad Airport, there was no staff no flight information for an hour. Then a fellow passenger started shouting on mic and an Indigo staff appeared finally,” a netizen said in a post.
On Friday, when IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights from across airports, its CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in a video message for the major inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruptions.
In the one-way video communication, Elbers also said that the airline was expecting fewer than 1,000 flights on Saturday.
