Check this out

[Turbine]

A view of our humble home at night
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg

[Dark Quasar]

Quite interesting look - WHOLE planet in the night darkness :)

[pragmathen]

Can you imagine if you were an interstellar search party for intelligence life and you came across this sort of view (minus clouds, of course)? Pretty damn cool.

[Turbine]

It's quite obvious that the U.S. is wasteing an incredible amount of electricity. I'll bet if there were a way to harness all the light that leaks out into space, it could power up a city for awhile. It's not too often you see efficient light fixtures in this country that reflect their output downwards. You see a lot of decorative "globe type" lights that shine in all directions. The way I see it, if it lights up the sky, it's a waste. We consume 30% more power than we produce and still complain we don't have enough.I agree it's an awesome picture.You can make out the continental shelves in the oceans.

[KneD]

WOW.....

(wonder how they made this picture.....combining pretty much photographs...every point on earth at night and a clear sky. And at the same local time, else it isn't fair. pweh...great job!!!)

[wet1]

Are we fascinated with the need to drive back the night or what? It kinda says something about our psychological makeup, almost screams it in fact.

This reminds me of a story I once read where a civiliztion had so much power demands that the wasted energy from light and heat drove the planet's temperture up. Could this be our future?

It seems that most of Canada is unsettled compared to the rest of the continents.

But, a fasinating picture, and as always a picture is worth a thousand words.

[papa_smirf]

The Nile River looks very cool at night. :cool: