Earth from Space - Image Description

Texas at night

This wide-angle, nighttime image was taken by astronauts looking from the International Space Station out southeastward over the Gulf of Mexico. Moonlight reflects diffusely off the waters of the gulf (image center left) making the largest illuminated area in the image. The sharp edge of light patterns of coastal cities trace out the long curve of the gulf shoreline!afrom New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River, to Houston (both image left), to Brownsville (image center) in the westernmost gulf. City lights at great distances in Florida (image top left) and on Mexico!-s Yucat"C/n peninsula (image center right) suggest the full extent of the gulf basin (more than 1500 km, or 930 miles, from Brownsville to Florida).

Other city patterns are the arcing string of lights of the Austin"CSan Antonio conurbation in central Texas, and Mexico!-s first and second cities, Mexico City and Monterrey (image right). In recent years a new pattern of lights has appeared revealing the oil- and gas-production zone of south-central Texas"Dhere a long, less dense swath of pinpoints (image lower center) shows the 330 km extent of what is now known now as shale fracking country.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.