APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

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APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by APOD Robot » Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:05 am

Image USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space

Explanation: Can you identify a familiar area in the northeast USA just from nighttime lights? It might be possible because many major cities are visible, including (right to left) New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond and Norfolk -- Boston of the USA's Northeast megalopolis is not pictured. The featured image was taken in 2012 from the International Space Station. In the foreground are two Russian cargo ships with prominent solar panels. This Northeast megalopolis of the USA contains almost 20 percent of the people of the USA but only about 2 percent of the land area. Also known also as the Northeast Corridor and part of the Eastern Seaboard, about 10 percent of the world's largest companies are headquartered here. The near continuity of the lights seem to add credence to the 1960s-era prediction that the entire stretch is evolving into one continuous city.

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heehaw

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by heehaw » Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:07 am

I spotted my house!

AstroHokie

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by AstroHokie » Wed Feb 24, 2016 11:52 am

Missed opportunity to mention the harmful effects of light pollution which is blocking night skies up and down the "corridor of light pollution."

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Beyond » Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:53 pm

Surprisingly, i recognized Long Island Sound before i discovered some of the cities were labeled.
To find the Truth, you must go Beyond.

ka1axy

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by ka1axy » Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:41 pm

No love for Boston, The Hub of the Universe?

:-)

Celestekent

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Celestekent » Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:32 pm

Yes in fact there are numerous areas where the pattern of lights on the ground are identifiable. Most people are not so provincial as to only know the Eastern USA corridor. The Los Angeles-San Bernadino-San Diego triangle is also easily identifiable too. Frankly anyone with a tiny bit of geography lodged in their head can probably provide for themselves the entire global boundaries based upon those light patterns

Rusty Brown in Cda

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Rusty Brown in Cda » Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:10 pm

I can spot my home town on the north shore of Lake Ontario, surrounded by dark farmland. Honest!

Claudia

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Claudia » Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:16 pm

It would be nice for you not to annex a large swat of Canada before Mr. Trump has had a chance to build a wall visible from space
I can see both, Toronto and Montreal
Enjoy all your daily posts. Thanks

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Fred the Cat » Wed Feb 24, 2016 5:46 pm

I'm not sure which is more crowded – the space station or the Eastern Seaboard? Ratioing the number of people in the ISS following a corridor all the way around the Earth in one orbit to the number of people in the Northeast Corridor might be a good math problem. :idea:

I might bet on the ISS for roominess. :?: Comparing the view is probably incomparable :roll:

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by BMAONE23 » Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:00 pm

I would wager that, per Cubic Meter, the ISS is the most crowded place in the entire Earth/Moon system
excluding cemeteries of course (though people are just dying to get in them)

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Chris Peterson » Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:08 pm

BMAONE23 wrote:I would wager that, per Cubic Meter, the ISS is the most crowded place in the entire Earth/Moon system
excluding cemeteries of course (though people are just dying to get in them)
Not even close. The ISS has approximately the same volume as a 747, for six permanent crew members (and for short durations, as many as 13). A 747 carries from 250-500 passengers, depending on configuration. A public restroom with one person in it is more crowded than the ISS.
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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by starsurfer » Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:18 pm

This is awesome, almost looks like something out a science fiction motion picture!
Click to play embedded YouTube video.

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by BMAONE23 » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:15 pm

Chris Peterson wrote:
BMAONE23 wrote:I would wager that, per Cubic Meter, the ISS is the most crowded place in the entire Earth/Moon system
excluding cemeteries of course (though people are just dying to get in them)
Not even close. The ISS has approximately the same volume as a 747, for six permanent crew members (and for short durations, as many as 13). A 747 carries from 250-500 passengers, depending on configuration. A public restroom with one person in it is more crowded than the ISS.
I would imagine that the Public Restroom might smell better though. At least you can open a window or door and freshen the air

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by BMAONE23 » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:23 pm

starsurfer wrote:This is awesome, almost looks like something out a science fiction motion picture!
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Like this?

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by Fred the Cat » Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:04 pm

If you think of the crew living in a hula hoop 50 feet in diameter circle the Earth 250 miles above Earth's surface (being about 4000 miles from its center) then using 4250 miles as a major radius and 50 ft (0.01 miles) as minor radius the volume of the area http://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-torus then the ISS crew lives in (in one orbit) about 8.4 cubed miles.
7 people per 8.4 cubic miles = 0.8 people per cubic mile

"Northeast megalopolis appears almost as a straight line. As of the year 2000, the region supported 49.6 million people, about 17% of the U.S. population on less than 2% of the nation's land area, with a population density of 931.3 people per square mile"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_megalopolis
So if you put a 50 ft height limit on a square mile it might be around 9.3 people per cubic mile.

Math not-with-standing I might win my bet. :D

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by BillBixby » Wed Feb 24, 2016 10:20 pm

The Eastern Seaboard link brings up the question of terminology. Terms for where the ocean meets the land on the Eastern and Western sides of the U.S. of A. Eastern Seaboard as compared to the West Coast. My understanding of the non-issue is the coasts were named by the European nations which settled them. Seaboard on the side where the English had the most influence, and Coast where the Spanish had the influence.

For a tie-in to APOD on this post, all I can think of is the seas reflection the sky above them.

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Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by starsurfer » Thu Feb 25, 2016 6:36 pm

BMAONE23 wrote:
starsurfer wrote:This is awesome, almost looks like something out a science fiction motion picture!
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Like this?
Yay Coruscant! My second favourite Star Wars planet after Tatooine. :D

old dude

Re: APOD: USA's Northeast Megalopolis from Space (2016 Feb 24)

Post by old dude » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:38 am

Looks like a runaway infection that's just about to kill the host.

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