SHOT from an altitude of 500 miles during daylight hours, ordinary weather-satellite pictures show little or no evidence of man and his great cities, highways, bridges, dams and cultivated fields. In fact, a visitor from another planet, viewing the world from that distance, might well ask: "Is there life on earth?" At night, however, the answer is obvious. The picture above, one of a series taken at 500 miles altitude by an Air Force satellite during darkness, clearly shows the cities in the eastern half of the U.S. glowing brightly—unmistakable signs that creatures below are using huge amounts of energy. Visible...
The Nation: The U.S. at Night
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