- The ISS passed over Delhi-NCR at 28,000 km/h, and will be visible until July 12 from India
- Astrophotographer Ajay Talwar captured over 90 images of the ISS, which was stitched into one stunning image
- Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is aboard the ISS on the Axiom-4 mission
As the International Space Station flew over India, astrophotographers and amateurs alike turned their cameras to the skies, possibly mirroring the awe-filled gaze with which Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla must have been looking at his country from the cuppola of the orbital lab.
While the football field-sized ISS passed over Delhi-NCR on Monday night, sightings will continue till July 12. Among the earliest glimpses of the ISS's passage over Delhi was captured by renowned astrophotographers Ajay Talwar and his wife Neelam Talwar.
As the ISS flew over Delhi at a break-neck speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour, Mr Talwar, armed with his Canon camera and fish eye lens, manoeuvred conditions like cloudy skies to capture over 90 images, which were later stitched together to create one stunning composite image of the orbital lab from the Earth.
"It was a very proud moment for me when I looked up through the monsoon clouds that are prevalent in the National Capital Region. The faint brightness of the International Space Station appeared on the western horizon and steadily grew brighter and brighter as it approached the zenith. My camera was ready and it was continuously capturing this epic moment. I lovingly waved towards the space station while I wondered if Shubhanshu Shukla was looking at India," he told NDTV.
Mr Shukla, nicknamed Shux by the Axiom-4 crew and the astronauts on the ISS, is India's first astronaut on the orbital lab.
The ISS follows a special trajectory to complete multiple orbits of the Earth in a day. Several apps give its precise location, like NASA's Spot the Station app or the ISS Detector App. As per the Talwars, a stargazing couple that has been photographing celestial bodies for 25 years, patience is key when it comes to astrophotography.
Mr Talwar recounted his first tryst with astrophotgraphy. "Although I have lost the slide, I still remember it vividly. I had gone to a place called Neb Sarai on the outskirts of Delhi in 1987 and exposed an entire film for a night. The slide film had 36 frames, but just a couple had stars visible in them," he said. The film was about to be disposed as it was found to not be exposed at all, but one frame shone through - one of a sky full of stars with a very evident Omega Centauri cluster.
Mr Talwar stressed the role of patience in getting the perfect frame, a feat few could manage when he began photographing the skies 25 years ago. "In one night, the entire film of 36 frames would not even be complete, so you were forced to go out again a week or month later. Finally, the film would be complete and then you would go and get it developed. So you would get to see the fruits only about a month later and still run the risk of making a mistake," he said.
Digital cameras, he said, changed the game. "You can preview your images instantly, make corrections and come back home with at least a few good shots. Even now, with advanced digital cameras, patience is required as you are photographing all night in some cases," he pointed out.
The ISS fly over India repeatedly in the next few days and can be sighted streaking across the sky, often visible for as long as five to seven minutes. Here is quick guide to spot the ISS in IST:
July 8: 4.59 am to 5.05 am; 7.59 pm to 8.06 pm; 9.38 pm to 9.41 pm
July 9: 4.10 am to 4.16 am; 8.48 pm to 8.53 pm
July 10: 3.22 am to 3.27 am; 4.58 am to 5.04 am; 7.59 pm to 8.05 pm
July 11: 2.34 am to 2.36 am; 4.09 am to 4.15 am
July 12: 7.59 pm to 8.03 pm
Those who miss the sighting can have another shot between July 24 and August 1. By then, Mr Shukla and the Axion-4 crew will be back on Earth, if all goes per schedule.
At NDTV, an active watch party is celebrating the success of 'India's Cosmic Leap' and several photographers have been sending their images. Among them is the capture by Dr Chrisphin Karthick, a scientist at Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Tamil Nadu's Kodaikanal.
Another view of the ISS's passage over Delhi was by NDTV video journalist Azam Siddiqui.
