This
was taken by the crew on board the Columbia during its last mission. This
photo was taken via satellite,
on a cloudless day. The picture is of
Europe and Africa when the sun is setting. Half of the picture is in night.
The
bright dots you see are the cities lights. The top part of Africa is the
Sahara Desert. Note how the lights
are already on in Holland, Paris, and
Barcelona, and how it's still daylight in London, Lisbon, and Madrid.
The
sun is still shining on the Straight of Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean Sea is
already in darkness.
In the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean you can see the Azores Islands; below them
to the right are the Madeira Islands;
a bit below are the Canary Islands; and
further south, close to the farthest western point of Africa, the Cape
Verde
Islands. Note how the Sahara is huge and can be seen clearly both during daytime
and nighttime.
To the left, on top, is Greenland, totally frozen. Fantastic!
