Saturday, December 03, 2005

The Earth at Night

Here.


Other people have religious experiences in churches. Me, it's the Jefferson Memorial, the Library of Congress, and Astronomy Picture of the Day.

10 comments:

chuck said...

The night(s) view is great! Look at the line of lights along the Nile; The upper and lower kingdoms just like in the olden days. I think there are rail lines visible in Russia and the mountains in Taiwan have forced settlement to the west. What the heck is that streak through Central Asia? Do traces of the silk road still show up? And why is Canada so empty away from the US border except in the area of what looks to be the Rockies?

ambisinistral said...

North Korea is still blacked out.

chuck said...

North Korea is still blacked out

Yep. Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Amazon basin too. Cuba is a bit dim. I wonder if it wouldn't look like Miami if not for Castro? I also thought Chile would show to more effect.

ambisinistral said...

I love the internet. In the southern Indian Ocean I noticed a completely blacked out island. Looking it up in an atlas it is the French territoy of Kereulen Island (formerly Desolation Island).

Here is a nice looking website with links to antarctic islands. Can an obscure thread be far behind?

Morgan said...

I'm fascinated by the little blips in the Amazon, the middle of the Australian outback, and other places I wouldn't have expected to find them. There's even one way up on the Queen Elizabeth Islands north of Canada - turns out it's Resolute. I've heard of it.

MeaninglessHotAir said...

Puerto Rico is by far the brightest spot in the Carribean. Wonder why?

Charlie Martin said...

Look at Cuba versus Puerto Rico. Fascinating, no?

chuck said...

Could one of the streaks through Asia be the Trans-Siberian?

Yes, I think that is the one that lies pretty much east-west up in the north with branch lines. Here's a map, looks like the branches are N-S rivers. What I am looking at, though, is the diffuse arc that goes from Iran just south of the Caspian and heads up around the Tibetan plateau. Let's see, here's a map, I think it *is* the route of the Silk Road.

Puerto Rico is by far the brightest spot in the Carribean.

I think you can see the split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic also. And also a dim Bela Rus in Europe? It is hard to tell about the latter because the entire Ukraine is a bit dim.

gumshoe said...

i love that photo of
"Earth at Night".

first saw it about 2 years ago.
one of my favorites.

Charlie Martin said...

Chuck, damned if it doesn't look like you're right. That's a fascinating observation, isn't it?

(That Asian art site is terrific, by the way.)