The Nile’s Nightlights
A barren Saharan landscape offers no sign of life from a distance. That is, except for when the sun sets and the region’s villages and towns become illuminated by city lights, evidence of existence. From the Earth’s surface, light pollution is one of the most hated occurrences caused by large cities, factory lights, street lights, buildings, nearly anything that offers luminescence. From space though, this enemy, this horrid thing that man has created becomes oddly beautiful from the window of the International Space Station. Astronauts have written time and time again about how lonely it can be, hundreds of kilometers above the Earth’s atmosphere. Sure, it can be daunting and most definitely awe-inspiring when one looks down at a dark navy blue ocean, or a green Amazon Forest, but does it necessarily add comfort to the lonely astronaut, who is in orbit at 27,600 km/h (≈17,100 mph) going around and around the only known planet with life?
Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who commanded the ISS for about five months (December 2012- May 2013) commented on how your perspective of nearly everything changes once you’ve gone to space and back; once you’ve stared planet Earth in the face and watched her smile back at you with the auroras.
Hadfield was once quoted saying, “If you can imagine floating weightless, watching the world pour by through the big bay window of the space station playing a guitar; just a tremendous place to think about where we are in history.” It is humbling to think that there are astronauts up there right now, peering out through a small window of the Space Station thinking about all of us; thinking about humanity and one collective planet Earth. It is humbling to think that there are people up there in the first place. We should all be grateful for their perspective. We should all be grateful for their sacrifice.
–Pete D
Photo Credit: ISS, NASA
References:
1. http://www.universetoday.com/102196/hadfields-return-to-earth-im-still-learning-how-to-walk-again/
2. http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/#.UljWzVPNmrY
3. http://www.worldspaceflight.com/bios/stats.php
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