A picture of Makkah taken from space has captured the Kaaba shining like a bright light. It was captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit.
Pettit recently returned from the International Space Station (ISS) and shared the image on his social media account. “Orbital views of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The bright spot in the center is the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, visible even from space,” read the caption of the image.
The astronaut captured the image during his fourth ISS mission from September 2024 to April 2025. The photograph was taken from the cupola window, an observatory module, using a high-resolution Nikon camera.
The image shows the urban buildings of Makkah and the Kaaba standing out.
The Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure draped in black kiswah cloth, stands out due to constant floodlighting, reflecting sunlight and artificial illumination toward orbit, creating a beacon amid surrounding hills and pilgrimage tents.
Science behind Holy sites being visible from space
From the International Space Station, some cities like Makkah appear to be glowing due to light pollution from millions of LEDs and sodium lamps, which scatter in the atmosphere and remain detectable by sensitive ISS cameras.
The Kaaba’s prominence is due to the mosque’s 24/7 illumination for prayer, Haj and Umrah pilgrims, enhanced by the station’s 28,000 km/h speed, allowing rapid captures during orbital passes over the Arabian Peninsula.
The astronaut’s expertise has captured ISS’s motion, sharpening details like roads tunnelling through mountains.
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