Interesting Space

ISS photographs the night lights of the U.S. Midwest

According to a NASA publication, on October 18, 2026, the sky over the eastern United States was clear before dawn. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took a wide-angle photograph of illuminated cities at 4:54 a.m. Central Daylight Time (09:54 UTC). Chicago and Detroit are among the brightest spots, while Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, along with the highways connecting them, are also clearly visible. A band of green and orange airglow can be seen on the left side of the horizon. Such photographs help track changes in the urban environment: using NASA's archive, researchers have developed a method to distinguish types of lighting in night photographs. With satellite data, scientists have also tracked power outages after storms and the transition to LED lighting.

Not covered in Armenian media (checked 4 November)

This story is based on the organisation's press release.