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File:Earth's City Lights by DMSP, 1994-1995 (large).jpg

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This file was the picture of the day on March 11, 2006.
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Summary

Description
العربية: صُورة مُركَّبة لِلأرض ليلًا.
Français : Image composite de la Terre la nuit.
English: This image of Earth’s city lights was created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). Originally designed to view clouds by moonlight, the OLS is also used to map the locations of permanent lights on the Earth’s surface.

The brightest areas of the Earth are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated. (Compare western Europe with China and India.) Cities tend to grow along coastlines and transportation networks. Even without the underlying map, the outlines of many continents would still be visible. The United States interstate highway system appears as a lattice connecting the brighter dots of city centers. In Russia, the Trans-Siberian railroad is a thin line stretching from Moscow through the center of Asia to Vladivostok. The Nile River, from the Aswan Dam to the Mediterranean Sea, is another bright thread through an otherwise dark region.

Even more than 100 years after the invention of the electric light, some regions remain thinly populated and unlit. Antarctica is entirely dark. The interior jungles of Africa and South America are mostly dark, but lights are beginning to appear there. Deserts in Africa, Arabia, Australia, Mongolia, and the United States are poorly lit as well (except along the coast), along with the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, and the great mountains of the Himalaya.
Date between 1 October 1994 and 31 March 1995
date QS:P,+1994-00-00T00:00:00Z/8,P1319,+1994-10-01T00:00:00Z/11,P1326,+1995-03-31T00:00:00Z/11
Source https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=55167 (image link)
Author Data: Marc Imhoff/NASA GSFC, Christopher Elvidge/NOAA NGDC; Image: Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon/NASA GSFC
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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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File history

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current18:45, 2 April 2014Thumbnail for version as of 18:45, 2 April 20144,800 × 2,400 (4.03 MB)TholmeHigher quality version saved from original tif.
02:28, 12 January 2013Thumbnail for version as of 02:28, 12 January 201316,384 × 8,192 (8.11 MB)TwinsdayReverted to version as of 23:16, 24 October 2005, orginal contrast is more realistic
17:26, 23 August 2012Thumbnail for version as of 17:26, 23 August 201216,384 × 8,192 (13.5 MB)KintetsubuffaloReverted to version as of 21:22, 6 March 2012 explanation?
08:11, 23 August 2012Thumbnail for version as of 08:11, 23 August 201216,384 × 8,192 (8.11 MB)TwinsdayReverted to version as of 23:16, 24 October 2005
21:22, 6 March 2012Thumbnail for version as of 21:22, 6 March 201216,384 × 8,192 (13.5 MB)SoerfmBrightness
23:16, 24 October 2005Thumbnail for version as of 23:16, 24 October 200516,384 × 8,192 (8.11 MB)Bricktopfull res
11:38, 21 July 2005Thumbnail for version as of 11:38, 21 July 20052,400 × 1,200 (534 KB)Nk''Composite image of the Earth at night, created by NASA and NOAA.'' '''NASA Description''': This image of Earth’s city lights was created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS).

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