I don't know about the iss specifically, but was stunned that taking a handheld photo with my huawei mate p20 pro - I could capture bright city lights, the aurora and a few bright stars shining through the aurora - in the same frame.
I'd be hard pressed to manage the same with my (old) dslr.
Yes. It's a combination of high iso with relatively low noise, and some enforced heavy handed post-processing in the camera app. And perhaps multiple exposures, I suspect. The pictures aren't "great" - but considering it's just "point and shoot" - I found it pretty impressive.
Let me see if I can't upload a couple of examples.
Ed: Any easy image hosting sites that work on mobile and allow selective whitelisting of exif data? I might want to strip time/GPS, but keep/present exposure information.. All without having to go via a desktop image program.
I'd be hard pressed to manage the same with my (old) dslr.