The International Space Station may orbit the Earth 250 miles above, making it difficult to distinguish in the sky, but one photographer has proven that with the right gear, it is possible to get a good view of it.
AJ Smadi says his “jaw dropped” when he saw what was on the back of his camera, calling the photo — which is a stack of 20 frames — “by far my sharpest ISS photo.”
Smadi caught the space station in his lens on more than one occasion. “I actually photographed a total of three flybys last night,” Smadi wrote on Tuesday morning. “It’s amazing to see the sunlight reflect off the panels.”
Smadi shot the photos during the twilight hours with a Celestron 9.25″ Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a ZWO ASI662MC camera. He explains that he doesn’t use software to track the ISS, instead using a hand controller with a laser pointer.
“The current long-duration crew of humans on board consists of seven core members — a mix of NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, and JAXA astronauts — aboard since April 19, 2025,” Smadi explains. “In addition, the Axiom‑4 private mission, a commercial crew, docked on June 26, 2025, with four more spaceflight participants, bringing the total to 11 individuals within the frame of these pictures.”
Many online commenters marveled at the fact that a backyard setup is capable of capturing such exotic objects. “It’s genuinely mind-boggling to consider how quickly we’ve advanced over mere decades,” says Smadi.
Smadi is no stranger to capturing spectacular celestial objects; last month, PetaPixel featured Smadi’s image of a solar eclipse taking place on a different planet: Saturn. The astrophotographer captured Titan — Saturn’s largest moon — as it passed in front of the Sun, creating a shadow on the surface of the gas giant.
More of Smadi’s work can be found on his Instagram and Reddit.
Image credits: AJ Smadi.
