#272412 - 18/12/2005 01:55
Image popquiz
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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I set up dual monitors at home and set this NASA image as the background on one desktop. Once I had this JPG expanded across both monitors and after I roamed around this composite photo for a while, one thing -- fact? observation? -- jumped out at me. A future beer to the first person to report what I spotted.
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#272413 - 18/12/2005 01:57
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14493
Loc: Canada
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You mean, like, apart from it already having been shown to be a fake (EDIT: no, wait -- got it confused with a similar image; this one is probably not the fake one), and the entire planet being dark all at the same time? 
Still pretty cool regardless!
Cheers!
Edited by mlord (18/12/2005 02:07)
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#272414 - 18/12/2005 02:06
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14493
Loc: Canada
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Oh, cool! There's some kind of large phantom circle on the top left of the image -- most visible when scrolling the image left <--> right repeatedly. What's with that?
Cheers
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#272415 - 18/12/2005 02:13
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
Oh, cool! There's some kind of large phantom circle on the top left of the image -- most visible when scrolling the image left <--> right repeatedly. What's with that?
Hmmm, didn't notice that. Maybe my monitors aren't up to snuff! My observation wasn't of anything supernatural -- UFOs, say -- but something more real....
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#272416 - 18/12/2005 02:25
Re: Image popquiz, My geography s&*$#s
[Re: mlord]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
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I don't think I ever realized that Bermuda was so far north.
That wheel of lights in Alaska is wild - even seems to have a geographic center.
edit: my guess...
It's not the fact that in the US the mercury vapor street light is a thing of the past and that sodium vapor lamps have a definite orange tint.
Or to say it directly, the color of the light being shown is somewhat inaccurate.
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#272417 - 18/12/2005 02:52
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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enthusiast
Registered: 18/03/2002
Posts: 225
Loc: San Diego, California USA
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I've always liked this image, being in the electric utility business.
I re-studied it, and all I can come up with is that South America seems a lot more to the "East" than North America above it than I remembered from my school days...
Even though I've never been there, I always think of a flight to Brazil as a flight "down" but it is really quite a bit to the East (and not even underneath the US at all).
Oh well, that's my observation....
Randy
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#272418 - 18/12/2005 04:15
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: The Central Guy]
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addict
Registered: 10/11/2000
Posts: 497
Loc: Utah, USA
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My observations:
Africa's a pretty desolate place, devoid of a lot of nighttime lighting. So's Australia, for the most part. Stating the obvious, of course.
The other thing that stands out every time I see one of these is the stark contrast between North and South Korea...
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-Aaron
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#272419 - 18/12/2005 04:30
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: adavidw]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
My observations:
......
The other thing that stands out every time I see one of these is the stark contrast between North and South Korea...
So, what kind of beer do you like?
Of any other possible interesting observations of our world at night, that was the one that jumped off the page.
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Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#272420 - 18/12/2005 04:46
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Alright, I'll take a couple of shots at it, but you really didn't give us enough of a clue. There are quite a few things to notice on this image:
1. The American Midwest has almost a "grid" of cities, almost undoubtedly arising from proximity to grain elevators. Transport cost of grain would drive the development of towns at some interval.
2. Most of the lights are near water, with the earliest developed coastlines a solid outline of lights: the Nile, Italy's coast (the whole Med, really). Not a big surprise, since that's where the population centers are because that's how people used to get around. Actually, come to think of it, why is the Nile a solid white line?
3. You can see some of the settlement routes of lands by light density, particularly in Russia and N America.
4. The North Slope appears to have more candlepower than the rest of Alaska.
5. Humans are practically dripping off of this little spherical rock.
6. Outdoor folks in the continental US can give up on their silly ideas that they go to any "wilderness" areas.
7. Disease, poverty, infant mortality, short life expectancy and probably bad smell are inversely correllated to candlepower (again, no big suprise, since this is basically an "infrastructure map").
My best guess: what the hell is up with the Nile River?
Jim
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#272421 - 18/12/2005 04:47
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Cool. I hadn't noticed that. Did you notice the Nile?
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#272422 - 18/12/2005 05:22
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: TigerJimmy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
Alright, I'll take a couple of shots at it, but you really didn't give us enough of a clue.
It was one of those stupid exercises you do at company retreats 
Quote:
There are quite a few things to notice on this image:
Now while I have already given away that one beer, you finger a bunch of interesting things...
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1. The American Midwest has almost a "grid" of cities, almost undoubtedly arising from proximity to grain elevators. Transport cost of grain would drive the development of towns at some interval.
Proximity to grain elevators or proximity of grain elevators to railroads? I know squat, but I'll guess both.
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2. Most of the lights are near water, with the earliest developed coastlines a solid outline of lights: the Nile, Italy's coast (the whole Med, really). Not a big surprise, since that's where the population centers are because that's how people used to get around. Actually, come to think of it, why is the Nile a solid white line?
(looking down the page...) No, I didn't notice the Nile. Now, I am guessing that there may be a certain amount of amplification/distortion just to make this composite image interesting, but that *is* pretty interesting.
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3. You can see some of the settlement routes of lands by light density, particularly in Russia and N America.
River valleys?
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4. The North Slope appears to have more candlepower than the rest of Alaska.
One part of this may come down to what spots on the map are "twenty-four seven" relative to satellite snapshots. Skyscrapers in Fairbanks may turn many lights off between midnight and 7AM, where I bet the mercury-vapor lamps lights in Prudhoe Bay burn all night long. Just guessing.
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5. Humans are practically dripping off of this little spherical rock.
I just finished reading "A Short History of Progress" by this comsymp pinko Canadian Ronald Wright. At some point in his essays he makes the point -- and I can't find the reference -- that humans have managed to light up the planet such that it blazes away in space (my poor paraphrase). It certainly makes this NASA snapshot more interesting. I am trying to figure out where the global warming deniers get all of their moxie.
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6. Outdoor folks in the continental US can give up on their silly ideas that they go to any "wilderness" areas.
This is one aspect that makes me think that light amplification, bleeding, distortion, whatever, may have some effect... I have a pretty good handle on what the situation is in the Pacific Northwest and I know there are some bits of wilderness around, satellite imagery notwithstanding.
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7. Disease, poverty, infant mortality, short life expectancy and probably bad smell are inversely correllated to candlepower (again, no big suprise, since this is basically an "infrastructure map").
Yes, the stats in New York City are not what one would hope.
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My best guess: what the hell is up with the Nile River?
Wright's book spends some time on the Nile. Interesting. Korea just hit me. Literally night-and-day on an arbitrary political divide. South Korea looks like an island.
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Jim
Jim
*Oh, and that was a Fairbanks joke.
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#272423 - 18/12/2005 06:10
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Quote:
I am trying to figure out where the global warming deniers get all of their moxie.
Me too! Its just absurd to think that burning all of this fuel (don't forget the coal) isn't going to heat up the place.
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Yes, the stats in New York City are not what one would hope.
LOL. That was, obviously, a mistake. OTOH, many downtowns don't smell very good.
The North Korea thing is amazing. I'm really glad you posted this. I sent it to a good friend of mine.
Jim
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#272424 - 18/12/2005 06:12
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Quote:
I just finished reading "A Short History of Progress" by this comsymp pinko Canadian Ronald Wright. At some point in his essays he makes the point -- and I can't find the reference -- that humans have managed to light up the planet such that it blazes away in space (my poor paraphrase). It certainly makes this NASA snapshot more interesting.
Something just occured to me. The lightbulb has only been around about 120 years.
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#272425 - 18/12/2005 15:34
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
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Was it:
The Nile is lit up as bright as New York City, the UK, and Japan?
(after reading the thread, I guess I'm not the first to notice)
The former Soviet Union seems to have fully lit cross country highways?
Huge Iceland produces less light than two tiny islands off of Madagascar?
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#272426 - 18/12/2005 15:59
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 13/09/1999
Posts: 2401
Loc: Croatia
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Quote:
River valleys?
And railroads (e.g. Trans-Siberian)
That Korean contrast is really startling. Closer to home, Bosnia is much darker than neighbours (which has partially to do with mountainous terrain).
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#272427 - 18/12/2005 18:26
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: jimhogan]
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addict
Registered: 10/11/2000
Posts: 497
Loc: Utah, USA
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Quote:
So, what kind of beer do you like?
None for me, thanks. I'm a teetotaler. I will, however, encourage you to buy for someone else on my behalf.
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-Aaron
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#272429 - 18/12/2005 19:44
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: Ezekiel]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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Second Image Post
Attachments
272563-Bos-NYCHires.gif (109 downloads)
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#272430 - 19/12/2005 03:51
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: Ezekiel]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Those super-high resolution images are cool. Thanks for the link.
I knew that comment would tweak some people. I love the outdoors, especially remote mountain areas. There are places where you can be 50 miles, maybe even a bit more, from the nearest road in the lower 48. It's wonderful to go to one of those places.
Going to Alaska forever changed my opinion of what a wilderness is. The most remote area in the continental US is like a suburb compared to "bush Alaska". It's just a completely staggering, mind-blowing experience. It's wilderness, where you can very easily disappear and never come back and you are very aware you are not the top of the food chain. It is just HUGE and the ground is being born right before your eyes. You SEE these immense and eternal geological processes right before your eyes and you are swallowed up by it all.
I was exaggerating in my original post. There are some very remote, dangerous and beautiful places in the lower 48. But Alaska was just... I can't even put it in words. It's just not the same category somehow. It was emotionally overwhelming. Staggering. Well, I give up. Words can't explain it.
Jim
Edited by TigerJimmy (19/12/2005 03:52)
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#272431 - 19/12/2005 11:25
Re: Image popquiz
[Re: TigerJimmy]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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TigerJimmy- Go read some Robert Service. You'll feel better. I've not been to AK, but will some day. -Zeke
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