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1114
1115

The rare image showing both day and night on earth. Amazing![414x414] (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by CrackHeadRodeo

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[–]Sofandi 310 points311 points ago

No. I'm afraid it's a composite picture. Notice the lack of clouds for example. I'll find more detail, hang on.

EDIT: I can't find the source for it(can anyone help?), but it is a computer generated image with a bunch of details like city lights and day/night posted onto it.

[–]ediks 191 points192 points ago

Also, you can see the sea floor topography.

[–]MtWashington 19 points20 points ago

The more you know!

[–]tweedius 22 points23 points ago

Correct. My desktop background program is called DesktopEarth, it does this for me every day.

[–]dysenterygary69 8 points9 points ago

Here's an explanation

[–]JohnnyNoNumber 13 points14 points ago

http://www.reddit.com/r/EarthPorn/comments/zrujp/the_rare_image_showing_both_day_and_night_on/c676nx5

Looks like it was just blown up a bit.

[–]shaggy1265 23 points24 points ago

The description in that link says it's a composite image...

[–]9ren 0 points1 point ago

So it's not something you see every day. Rare,

[–]rubygeek 1 point2 points ago

It's almost certainly based on images released by NASA, quite likely created from the Blue Marble series

[–]clifwith1f 0 points1 point ago

I remember seeing this on Snopes a while back.

[–]Jonthrei 62 points63 points ago

This is what the day-night terminator actually looks like from space.

Another shot.

[–]knightofmars 25 points26 points ago

The real thing is much cooler than the fake OP pic.

[–]The-Stranger 1 point2 points ago

Because we know its real, thats what makes it amazing.

[–]Ed_Rives 117 points118 points ago

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030324.html

I'm sorry.

[–]nonameworks 5 points6 points ago

I can't believe how plain NASA's websites are.

Edit: Someone pointed out that this is 10 year old cached page. Also I was most likely looking at a cached page when I was l was doing research before.

[–]ephyoosecay 19 points20 points ago

they're busy doing space

[–]Fmeson 8 points9 points ago

Modern APOD looks just about the same. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

I honestly like it. Lots of modern websites design gets in the way of the content. Who cares if a website looks flashy if it has quality content?

[–]nonameworks 1 point2 points ago

I partly agree, but I would prefer more pleasing colours and if it had a maximum width. Reddit works well spreading out to 1920 pixels, but that site just does not.

[–]Fmeson 1 point2 points ago

I have the same resolution monitor, and it seems fine to me. Maybe the explanation segment shouldn't spread across the whole screen, but that is resolution independent.

What color would you pick?

[–]shaggy1265 0 points1 point ago

Nasa.gov

[–]bucky420 0 points1 point ago

government agencies and hospitals are guilty of spending very little money on keeping their administrative technology up to date. they spend it on other things like rockets or robots that perform surgery.

[–]calinet6 0 points1 point ago

Hahahaha. APOD has been the same absolutely awesome site for over 10 years.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

Don't mess with a good thing.

[–]spankr 1 point2 points ago

Why? The Web is a mix of content and presentation in varying degrees - NASA has content coming out its proverbial ass-tronauts... why give a shit about how it looks old? Have a look at the vast majority of leading researcher's pages in any field - they're very simple, yet contain the most amazing information and research humanity has ever seen... Sciences are under funding pressures like everything else - where should they spend their money? Research, their own ass (they have to eat and have a life too), or a snazzy, fancy dancey, HTML5 "make it so the average web-surfin' Cheeto-eatin' masturbatin' Joe Six-Pack, or Sally Housecoat can get a grip on what they are doing" websites?

[–]AcerRubrum 9 points10 points ago

There's also a website where you can look at something like this in real-time. Can't find the link atm though.

[–]Ifyouletmefinnish 5 points6 points ago

Well you better get a-lookin!

We're waiting, OP.

[–]kaotik4266[!] 2 points3 points ago

You can have a play with this.

[–]PrettyPrettyGood 0 points1 point ago

I can get you the link ass-to-mouth if you need it.

[–]MisterPooPoo 0 points1 point ago

The reason for the image's continued popularity might be simple: it is really cool looking.

[–]fridgetarian 204 points205 points ago

I hate to be so harsh, but you're an idiot.

[–]ketomine 4 points5 points ago

I don't get it...

[–]knightofmars 13 points14 points ago

Well, you see, the OP is an idiot.

[–]ketomine 7 points8 points ago

In reference to what though? Because it's a fake picture?

[–]ivanoski-007 19 points20 points ago

Slow applause...

[–]QuintinT 18 points19 points ago

Slow applesauce

[–]blankscientist 2 points3 points ago

I'm sorry about your downvotes. I just laughed my ass off.

[–]QuintinT 7 points8 points ago

Thats the price you pay when you're hilarious.

All kidding aside, I always read Applause as Applesauce if your reading a book and it says Applause its actually quite confusing I've have to reread a lot because of that habit

[–]squeege 4 points5 points ago

A round of applesauce for you sir.

[–]MiracleBlue 3 points4 points ago

What would applesauce go with? I couldn't imagine it as a sauce. If it's already an existing sauce, I've never seen it (and am probably deprived of something amazing)

[–]QuintinT 2 points3 points ago

I usually just eat it out of the jar or bake it into cookies.

I guess it goes good with:

  • Pancakes
  • French Toast
  • Oatmeal

[–]ac1dBurn7 1 point2 points ago

Literally everyone to whom I've ever offered an applesauce cookie has recoiled in horror, saying "EWW APPLESAUCE COOKIES?!?!"

They're usually the same people who like Fig Newtons.

[–]QuintinT 0 points1 point ago

I dont think I have ever had an Applesauce cookie, they sound delicious.

And Fig Newtons are the cat's a pajamas

[–]blankscientist 0 points1 point ago

You've never seen applesauce? Shit. Add cinnamon, get spoon.

[–]QuintinT 1 point2 points ago

Delicious

[–]Mikarevur 16 points17 points ago

So many things about this picture can tell you it's been tampered with and not a genuine day to night image.

[–]EdibleDolphins 59 points60 points ago

Why would there be a curtain of day and night? We all know it doesn't just become night all of a sudden. The earth is a sphere so the light would become gradually more sparse over a very wide gradient.

You can see plenty of images of earth from the moon that show this.

[–]flyingtiger188 41 points42 points ago

It's call the terminator line. Here's a picture of the terminator from apollo 2. But I believe even photos from the ISS of the terminator are usually all at fairly oblique angles due to it not having a high enough altitude to show it directly.

But yes the image submitted by the OP is a composite of day and night pictures with a digitally added terminator line, which is why it looks weird.

[–]spankr 38 points39 points ago

Amazing how one can see the entire sea floor... /s

[–]smeenz 18 points19 points ago

Nice, but unfortunately fake - http://www.snopes.com/photos/space/sunset.asp

Also, 9 years old.

[–]HomerJunior 8 points9 points ago

"It's the nicest weather earth has ever had"

[–]Viraus2 1 point2 points ago

How can you be Universal and International?

[–]soupyhands 1 point2 points ago

It's a long Par 5 to our Nation's Capital.

[–]paternoster 18 points19 points ago

Oh come on! Sheesh. Whattaloadacrap.

[–]aheadwarp9 4 points5 points ago

Sorry, this looks totally fake.

[–]crappuccino 6 points7 points ago

OP must be new to the internet..

[–]nyquiljunky 4 points5 points ago

A rare photoshoped image...

[–]reneepussman 9 points10 points ago

No. This is shopped.

[–]SOPA_NO 1 point2 points ago

Not shopped, composite. It's a bunch of images put together.

[–]reneepussman 10 points11 points ago

Probably put together in photoshop.

[–]jefftron 2 points3 points ago

Let's all compromise with compo-shopped and move on

[–]mlc2475 4 points5 points ago

"wow. not a single cloud over the whole of Western Europe and Northern Africa combined!" he said sarcastically.

[–]Arch_0 3 points4 points ago

I can see my house

[–]redditspice 4 points5 points ago

fake image is fake

[–]Thomsa 3 points4 points ago

The lightened urban area in the north is Holland, the most densily populated country in Europe.

[–]benjaminovich 7 points8 points ago

yeaahhh...

[–]donkeyrocket 1 point2 points ago

I suppose Thomsa was excluding microstates but "yeaahhh..." indeed.

[–]Malfeasant 4 points5 points ago

holland is not a country, it's the most populous region within the netherlands. if you include the rest of the netherlands, its density goes down to less than that of england- which is technically a country, it doesn't have to include all of the uk. now you know.

[–]sloonark[!] 2 points3 points ago

My God. I am 36 years old and I never knew this.

[–]Malfeasant 2 points3 points ago

i'm 37, and i only just looked it up because it didn't sound right. actually i was thinking luxembourg was denser since it's so tiny, surprisingly, it's not even close.

[–]karlbirkir 0 points1 point ago

I'm sure there's a subreddit for this kind of revelations.

[–]QTsexkitten 1 point2 points ago

if you dont take the picture then this is pointless. also I've seen this picture a lot

[–]tweedius 1 point2 points ago

I have a desktop background program called DesktopEarth, I see this every day. It really sucks when it is 2 am and I have to be up at 6 for work and I see just how close the sun is from coming up here.

[–]Dugan_Nash 1 point2 points ago

Woohoo, Photoshop!

[–]Call_Me_Joris -1 points0 points ago

The really bright part on the left of the darkside above France? That's where I live. The brightness is caused by the shitload of street lanterns we have.

[–]Gehbstemmer 1 point2 points ago

Paris seems a bit off, it's in the sun but already lit up. Unless the French have started early.

[–]ODuffer 1 point2 points ago

Snort There is no rain over Manchester, who are they kidding.

[–]wheelchaircowboy 0 points1 point ago

Fourmilab lets you play around with this kind of image.

[–]djxaval 1 point2 points ago

Rare? A picture of a fallen tree in the Sahara is rare, this is one of the most common composite pictures on the interwebz

[–]AvocadosAndBanana 0 points1 point ago

I love how that line is called the terminator. Whenever it passes, I imagine it saying "I'll be back."

[–]prodikl 0 points1 point ago

Why is this rare? Couldn't this picture be taken at literally any time?

[–]bucky420 0 points1 point ago

i just moved to canada and that spot between the light part and the dark part has got to be one of the prettiest things to look at. im sure it's like that other places but we've got a nice big sky up here. the earth rocks.

[–]camus56 0 points1 point ago

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth/action?opt=-p

[–]thephantommessage 0 points1 point ago

I didn't actually think it looked like that. Could be photoshopped but what do I know

[–]KruXplanetEater 0 points1 point ago

I keep seeing this post on multiple subreddits with multiple posters, what happened to being original these days? Wtf

[–]Cousin_Oliver 0 points1 point ago

wtf France, turn your lights off during the day!

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]nonameworks 2 points3 points ago

Did someone just scale the tiny image up. That is just absolutely full of artifacts.

[–]Z4ppy 1 point2 points ago

Fantastic quality, thanks very much...

... not.

[–]rwarner13 -4 points-3 points ago

This needs to be a .gif

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]BeanBone 7 points8 points ago

Actually...

No single spacecraft or astronaut took this picture. It is a digital composite of archived images taken by several Earth-orbiting satellites and ocean-faring ships. Similar images can be digitally stitched together for any Earth location by John Walker's Earth and Moon Viewer website. Specifically, the daytime land images were taken by the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite, while the nighttime images were taken by the DMSP satellites. This image is different from what an astronaut would see for reasons including a complete lack of clouds and an unrealistic exaggeration of lights and contrasts. The image has become both an internet wave in that it continues to circulate as an attachment to digital correspondence, and a modern urban legend. Another image like that is Earth at Night. The reason for the image's continued popularity might be simple: it is really cool looking.

NASA source.

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