In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
In Pictures: Meteors
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Dancing with the Stars
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Black Holes
In Pictures: Space Photos of the Day: Asteroids
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Visions of the future
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Massive Storms
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Gas giants
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Heavenly Rings
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Female Astronauts
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: The Moon
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: A Blue Planet
Europe: Man-made lights highlight particularly developed or populated areas of the Earth's surface, including the seaboards of Europe. Large cities are often located near rivers or oceans so that they can exchange goods cheaply by boat. This image is a composite of hundreds of pictures made by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), which currently operates four satellites carrying the Operational Linescan System (OLS) in low-altitude polar orbits.
Rosario, Argentina, is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 11 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Paran River is the principal transportation artery of central South America, and consequently gave rise from the times of early colonization to the growth of river port cities such as Argentina's second city, Rosario.
This is a spaceborne radar image of the area surrounding St. Louis, Missouri, where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers come together. The city of St. Louis is the bright gold area within a bend in the Mississippi River at the lower center of the image. The rivers show up as dark blue sinuous lines. Urbanized areas appear bright gold and forested areas are shown as a brownish color.
Seoul, South Korea is featured in this digital image photographed by an Expedition 10 crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS). This photograph illustrates the Seoul (originally known as Hanyang) urban area at night. Major roadways and river courses (such as the Han River) are clearly outlined by street lights, while the brightest lights indicate the downtown urban core (center of image) and large industrial complexes. Very dark regions in the image are mountains or large bodies of water.
The Wasatch Range in Utah is featured in this photo by an Expedition 11 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Wasatch Range forms an impressive backdrop to the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, and is a frequent destination for hikers and skiers. The range is considered to be the westernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, and rises to elevations of approximately 12,000 feet above sea level.
This June 16, 2000 image of Istanbul, Turkey, shows the city straddling Europe and Asia, split by the Bosphorus Strait (in dark blue), and portrayed in the visible and infrared spectrum. Vegetation appears red, and urban areas blue-green.
Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 14 crewmember on the International Space Station. The port city of Bahia Blanca lies almost 400 miles southwest of Buenos Aires on the southern rim of the Argentine economic heartland. This small city of 275,000 people is captured in one frame which shows its position near the mouth of the Arroyo Naposta. The salt flats (gray) and wetlands bordering this estuary, characterized by twisting, light colored tidal channels and dark swamps, lie mainly on the south side of the river.
This image of Chicago, Illinois, at night, taken by an Expedition 7 crewmember onboard the International Space Station (ISS), shows patterns of the city center and major roads along the coast of Lake Michigan.
The border between North and South Korea is highlighted in this Defense Meteorological Satellite Program photograph of the countries. Japan is the bright island off the coast, with the Korean Peninsula lying near the southern end of Japan. The industrialized South Korea is clearly outlined by the lights of its modern cities while its neighbor to the north is shrouded in darkness. The lights of China and Russia are located to the north.
Man-made lights trace the particularly developed or populated areas of the Earth's surface, including the US, Latin America, and South America's southwestern coast.
The Nile River Delta of Egypt seen from space. NASA
The Eastern U.S., Europe, and Japan are brightly lit by their cities, while the interiors of Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America remain (for now) dark and lightly populated.
This image of Houston, Texas, shows the amount of detail that is possible to obtain using spaceborne radar imaging. Images such as this can become an effective tool for urban planners who map and monitor land use patterns in urban, agricultural and wetland areas. Central Houston appears pink and white in the upper portion of the image, outlined and crisscrossed by freeways.
Central Turkey dominates this north-looking panorama, with the long fingered island of Cyprus (lower l.) surrounded by the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Turkey's capital, Ankara, lies just north of the white bed of a dry lake in the center of the view. The city is supplied with water from the neighboring blue lake. The coast of Syria and Lebanon appear bottom right.
This image shows the northern part of central New York State, a landscape sculpted by the ice sheets of the last ice age. Lake Ontario runs across the top of the image. The city of Syracuse is the radar-bright area next to the dark Onandaga Lake, below and to the right of the image center. The larger dark area on the right side is Oneida Lake. Several of the Finger Lakes are visible as long narrow dark patches on the left side of the image.
A wall of water and mud buried much of Gonaives, Haiti, in the wake of Tropical Storm Jeanne, which struck the island of Hispaniola on Sept. 18, 2004. The storm hovered over the island for as much as 30 hours, pounding the region with heavy rain. Four days later, on Sept. 22, the Ikonos satellite captured this high-resolution view of the water-logged city. Brown mud or water still covers a large part of the city. Roads that were visible on Sept. 17 have disappeared, as have a number of buildings.
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