Viral pic: Chandrayaan-3 lights up Australia’s night sky

A picture of India’s Chandrayaan-3 rocket in Australia’s night sky has gained much traction on Twitter, captivating people with its beauty.

Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar exploration mission, on board the heavy-lift GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) rocket was launched on July 14 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). About 20 minutes after the spacecraft took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota, ISRO announced that it was in its precise orbit and had begun its journey to the Moon. The spacecraft will travel to the Moon over the next month, with a landing anticipated on August 23 this year. The launch of Chandrayaan-3 was witnessed live by spectators near the ISRO centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, and millions more watched the broadcast on YouTube. Now, a picture of Chandrayaan-3 lighting up Australia’s night sky is doing the rounds on social media and is captivating people with its beauty.

India’s Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar exploration mission, in Australia’s night sky. (Twitter/@erfmufn)

“Just watched India’s space agency launch their moon rocket on YT then fly over my house 30 mins later! Congrats @isro ! Hopefully you stick the landing,” wrote Dylan O’Donnell while sharing a picture on Twitter. According to his YouTube channel, O’Donnell shoots from the Byron Bay Observatory, Australia, for Deography photo blog, writes for Celestron & Photographing Space, and provides science outreach for schools and students.

Take a look at the picture that captured Chandrayaan-3 in Australia’s night sky below:

Since being shared two days ago, the picture has accumulated over 7.4 lakh views and the numbers are still increasing. The picture has also received more than 12,200 likes and a plethora of comments from netizens.

Here’s how people reacted to the viral picture of Chandrayaan-3 in Australia’s night sky:

An individual wrote, “Is this a long exposure shot or a standard photograph? Brilliant capture!” To this, O’Donnell replied, “2 second exposure.” “Awesome click,” praised another. A third commented, “Awesome capture.” “Thank you for sharing,” expressed a fourth. A fifth enquired, “Is this from a specific location like Perth or Sydney or visible in all or most of Australia?” “How high was the rocket, at this point in time. That would be interesting to know. Brilliant capture,” posted a sixth. A seventh joined, “Cool shot. Did not realise it would be visible in Australia !! Thanks for sharing.”