The U.S. at Night

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 in areas not covered by clouds are the lights of the megalopolis that includes 1) Boston, 2) New York, 3) Philadelphia and 4) Baltimore-Washington. In the Great Lakes region, there are 5) Cleveland, 6) Detroit and 7) Chicago-Milwaukee. Also standing out are the metropolitan areas of 8) St. Louis, 9) Kansas City, 10) Memphis, 11) New Orleans and 12) Atlanta. At the tip of Florida, 13) Miami and its environs paint a glowing band along the coast.

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