Image courtesy of NASA

Space Station View: The Nile at Night
| published October 5, 2015 |

By Thursday Review staff

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is slightly past the halfway point in his one year mission in space aboard the International Space Station. A few days ago Kelly captured this dazzling, glittering photograph of the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Most apparent in the image is the serpentine Nile River, which can be seen clearly near the left of the photo. The bright golden and yellow lights are communities, cities and towns along the banks of the river, where much of Egypt’s population is located.

Also easy to spot—assuming you know you way around maps and geography—are the edges of the Arabian Peninsula, in the center and upper right, the Red Sea (the deep blue area in the front center), and the crowded and heavily populated areas of Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, seen in the upper center at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea.

Kelly tweeted this message with the photo: The Nile at night is a beautiful sight for these sore eyes.

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