CNN features stunning pictures from NASA

NASA imagery of Earth is featured this week on CNN.com - "NASA captures stunning pictures of Earth"

The gallery featured in the article is a just small sample of the hundreds of images available. In 2008 the NASA Earth Observatory captured many stunning images of the Earth - including innovative images from the International Space Station showing city lights from space.

In this series space station astronauts used a tracking system to cancel orbital motion and obtain sharp images of cities at night from space for the first time.

The nighttime photograph of Tokyo, Japan, above was taken by International Space Station astronaut Dan Tani on February 5, 2008. The heart of the city is brightest, with ribbons of lights radiating outward from the center along streets and railways. The lights of Tokyo are a cooler blue-green color than many other world cities. The color results from the use of mercury vapor lighting as opposed to sodium vapor lighting, which produces an orange-yellow light.

- Jeff