Pictures of Earth from Space: Cities
Written by Fraser Cain
One of the greatest benefits of Earth observing satellites is to turn the telescope and cameras back on the Earth, so see our own home in the Universe. To really get a sense of our impact on the planet, take a look at pictures of cities, captured by satellites orbiting overhead.

This is a photograph of Tokyo, Japan – the biggest city in the world – imaged by International Space Station astronaut Dan Tani on February 5, 2008. The brightest part of the city is the center, with ribbons of light stretching out of the city center following roads and public transit routes.

Here's a photograph of Chicago, one of the largest cities in the United States, located on the shores of Lake Michigan. This space pic was taken by NASA's Landsat 7 satellite. This photograph was taken on October 19, 2000.

This next image from space is of New York City, New York. Brooklyn is off to the right-hand side of the image, and Manhattan Island is almost perfectly in the center of the image. The photograph was taken during the space shuttle mission STS-039.

And finally, here's a high-resolution image of London taken from the International Space Station in 2005. You can see many London landmarks, including Regent’s Park, Hyde Park and St. James’s Park east of Buckingham Palace.
Filed under: Astronomy

