This image is remarkable in and of itself, but even more interesting when viewed along with this explanation that came with it.
The photograph was taken by the crew on board the Columbia during its last mission, on a cloudless day. The picture is of Europe and Africa when the sun is setting. Half of the picture is in night. The bright dots you see are the cities' lights.
The top part of Africa is the Sahara Desert.
Note
that the lights are already on in Holland, Paris, and Barcelona, and
that's it's still daylight in Dublin, London, Lisbon, and Madrid.
The sun is still shining on the Strait of Gibraltar. The Mediterranean Sea is already in darkness.
In
the middle of the Atlantic Ocean you can see the Azores Islands; below
them to the right are the Madeira Islands ; a bit below are the Canary
Islands; and further South, close to the farthest western point of
Africa , are the Cape Verde Islands.
Note that the Sahara is huge and can be seen clearly both during daytime and night time.
To the left, on top, is Greenland - totally frozen.
