From: Earth Observatory (check out the pictures there!)
Night lights can reveal a lot about the distribution of people on the landscape, or “human geography.” In this astronaut photograph from the International Space Station (ISS), the lights of Qatar show informative demographic detail that is very difficult to discern in daylight images—especially in deserts, where even large cities can be hard to see.
The brightest group of lights at image center is the capital city, Doha, with the neighboring smaller ports of Ad-Dahira and Umm Sa’id to the north and south. (Note that north is to the left, due to the path of the ISS orbit.) Highways are clearly visible leading west from the capital to the Dukhan oil fields, to Saudi Arabia, and to the north of the country where—judging by the lack of night lights—the population is probably very low. The relatively minor coast road between the oil fields and the Saudi frontier also stands out.
Almost the entire island nation of Bahrain appears at lower left, with the capital city of Manama nearly as bright as the lights of Doha. The difference in light intensity reflects a difference in population; Doha has 1.45 million inhabitants, while the dense Manama metro area has a population of 1.2 million.
While some night views are informative about a landscape, they can also be difficult and confusing to locate. Astronauts learn to recognize where they are at night by…
Finish reading Qatar at Night and see the pictures!
