It's Earth Day!

In the spirit of photography and light, I am posting about light from human populations. Light pollution may be a serious problem in many cities, and the energy used to power our large and tiny anthills may be slowly poisoning us all, but seriously, it's all about the pretty.

This image was created by the UN from composite satellite pictures. I think this one is the real light coming from the earth, recorded with a long exposure. Satellites are moving, of course, so taking a picture with a long exposure is challenging. So some guy built a thing that compensates. Check out this website for a more scientific explanation. The sciency bit is partway down, and there are some other pictures.

This one is awesome, it looks like some sort of blobby/tentatcle monster:

EUROPE WILL EAT YOUR SOUL.

It's fascinating to look at different areas of the globe and different cities and see what you can figure out from the light distribution at night.

Japan is distinctive because the country uses a light source that emits mercury vapors into the air, causing a green glow. It's pretty eerie, and clearly a sign that this phenomenon needs to be features in a Mothra remake. It's a giant moth! Clearly would be destructively attracted to lights!

Pictures of Cairo show the Nile as a distinctive black line snaking through the city.

Images of Vegas are gorgeous in part because the colored (and extreme in general) lights along the strip look like a strip of scattered jewels in the middle of the city in the middle of the desert.

I am pleased to celebrate Earth Day by celebrating how cool our planet looks from space due to our consumption of natural resources.