Overview
- The photographs, taken from roughly 400 km above Earth and shared on the ISS X account, highlight five of the most luminous urban centers visible from orbit.
- Delhi’s image was captured at about 10:54 pm local time, showing the city split by the Yamuna River with Indira Gandhi International Airport marked as a bright rectangular feature.
- Tokyo glows along Tokyo Bay with rail lines visible, New York shows a dark void at Central Park along the Long Island corridor, and Singapore features Changi Airport and the Pasir Panjang terminal.
- São Paulo appears bathed in white LED illumination, illustrating how lighting technologies shape the city’s orbital signature.
- NASA and ISS describe these city light maps as useful for studying energy use, urban growth, urban planning and light pollution, with social media reactions noting Delhi’s brightness and air quality concerns.