Social media sites flooded with pictures of Diwali celebrations as India lit up in a dazzling display of light and colour.
However, there was one photograph that many desi folks were eagerly awaiting – NASA’s picture of the country from outer space. Although not of celebrations from the ground, the space agency’s festive greeting, nevertheless, left all in awe.
When it comes to Diwali, it’s hard to avoid the fake ‘India seen from Space’ photograph that keeps circulating for what seems like the zillionth time. Although it has been fact-checked by numerous portals and found to be untrue, the image ends up in our feed every year, as a running gag if nothing else. This time, too, as people kept tagging the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA to share some shots from space, they finally got a glimpse of an epic “sparkling starfield” captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Posting a breathtaking image of thousands of brightly lit stars, called a globular cluster, the agency said, “It contains a densely-packed collection of colorful stars close to the heart of the Milky Way.” It explained that interstellar gas and dust absorb starlight, which makes observations more challenging. However, thanks to advanced telescopes this stunning view is possible.
In it’s blog, NASA further explained: “Interstellar absorption affects some wavelengths of light more than others, changing the colors of astronomical objects by causing them to appear redder than they actually are.”
The agency identified the globular cluster as ESO 520-21 (also known as Palomar 6), which lies in the constellation Ophiuchus, near the celestial equator.
As desi people thanked NASA for the beautiful wish, they couldn’t stop gushing about the stunning ‘festival of lights’ in the outer space.