bild

North America at night. Satellite image of city lights at night, centred on North America. Across top is the uninhabited dark of the Arctic region round the North Pole, with lights in Alaska (upper left) and Iceland (upper right). In North America, bright areas mark major cities such as: Montreal, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC (north-east), Atlanta (south-east), San Francisco, Los Angeles (south-west), Seattle, Vancouver (north-west), Chicago, Minneapolis (north) and Houston, Dallas (south). Dark areas include the plains and mountains of central and western USA. At lower centre is Mexico City, with lights in the Caribbean and on the coast of South America (lower right). For this area in the day, see E070/561. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/PLANETOBSERVER)