Science

Stunning ISS Photo Shared From Earth Sparks Collective Amazement

Published on June 2, 2025

An ‘amazing’ photo of the International Space Station (ISS) went viral on social media, leaving everyone with the same opinion.

An ISS photo was posted on Reddit by member @Correct_Presence_936, who captioned it, “I Captured the ISS During the Day; My Sharpest Image to Date.”

Considering how difficult it is to capture the ISS, the striking image, which displays the space station in the sky, is astonishingly clear.

According to BBC Sky at Night Magazine, the International Space Station (ISS) travels at a speed of 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph) in low Earth orbit, which is quite fast, making it challenging to photograph.

People on Reddit were in awe of the user’s ability to get such a good photo.

“Blows my mind that people can just do this as a hobby. Awesome shot,” one wrote, while another said, “Getting a photo this clear of something so far and so FAST with HAND TRACKING is just incredible.”

And a third added, “It blows my mind that regular folks have the skill to pull it off. Bravo.”

Similar remarks were made by others, who emphasised the ISS’s high speed.

One said, “I’ve also taken photos of it (not this good), and I’ll tell you, when you’re swinging a telescope around by hand to track this thing across the sky, it does not feel like it’s hanging there at all.”

I Captured the ISS During the Day; My Sharpest Image to Date.
byu/Correct_Presence_936 inspace

“Quite the opposite, it’s absolutely mind blowing how something so huge can be positively hauling a**.”

A different poster wrote, “It is falling due to gravity, but it’s moving so fast (about 17,000 mph) that it keeps missing Earth.”

Someone else added, “It goes by fairly quick! Like a slightly slower shooting star. Was super fun staring into the sky waiting for it to go overhead.”

Even though the ISS is constantly falling and moving, it never collides with Earth.

Space.com explains, “It sounds miraculous, but it is not a paradox or magic, simply the result of good old fashioned physics.”

“It all comes down to the International Space Station’s orbital velocity, its height above the ground, and the rate at which it is falling under gravity.”

The ISS completes 16 Earth orbits and passes through 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24-hour period. In contrast, the space station’s interior is actually larger than a house with six bedrooms.

NASA claims that it has a gym, two restrooms, six sleeping quarters, and a large, 360-degree bay window.