forwarded from subscriber Sheryll Greer

[Michael Eisenstadt]

Check the link below...This is really a sight to
      behold. The image is a panoramic view of the world from the
      new space station. It is a night photo with the lights
      clearly indicating the populated areas.
      You can scroll East-West and North-South.

      You can see Dallas, Houston, and the Austin-San Antonio Corridor.

      Note that Canada's population is almost exclusively
      along the US border. Moving east to Europe, there is a high
      population concentration along the Mediterranean Coast. It's easy
      to spot London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna.

      Note the Nile River and the rest of the "Dark Continent." 
      After the Nile, the lights don't come on again until
      Johannesburg. Look at the Australian Outback and the
      Trans-Siberian Rail Route. Moving east, the most
      striking observation is the difference between north and South
      Korea. Note the density of Japan.

      What a piece of photography. It is an absolutely
      awesome picture of the Earth taken from the Boeing built Space
      Station last November on a perfect night with no obscuring
      atmospheric conditions.

     
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg