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Asia at night. Satellite image of the Earth at night, set against a background of stars, centred on the continent of Asia. North is at top. City lights (yellow) show areas of dense population. Most of central and western Asia (centre) is uninhabited desert, as is the Arctic (top centre). Large, dense populations are found in India (lower centre), South-East Asia (lower right), eastern China (centre right) and Japan (far right). A sparse population is scattered across Siberia (upper centre). At upper left are the population centres of Europe, European Russia, and the Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula. Image data obtained in 2001 by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/NASA/NOAA)