From US
Space Shuttles, which typically orbited at around , cities were easily distinguishable from surrounding countryside. At night, cities are also easily visible from the higher orbit of the ISS. Metropolitan areas are clearly visible at night, particularly in industrialized countries, due to a multitude of street lights and other light sources in urban areas (see
light pollution).
Cooling pond of Chernobyl '' in 1997 The long cooling pond of the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is visible from space. In April 1997 it was photographed from the
Mir space station, which was in orbit somewhere between and .
The Greenhouses of Almería ,
Andalucía, Spain The
greenhouse complex that covers about in the
province of Almería,
Andalucía,
Spain is visible from space. It is sometimes referred to as the "Plastic sea" ("Mar de plástico" in Spanish) due to the high concentration of these greenhouse structures. This area produces much of the fruit and vegetables that are sold in the rest of Spain and Europe. Apart from the area depicted in the photo, other zones of the province of Almería (and also the south of Spain) have large concentrations of white-plastic greenhouses too.
Bingham Canyon Mine near
Salt Lake City,
Utah from the
International Space Station in 2007 The
Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine, is an
open-pit mining operation extracting a large
porphyry copper deposit southwest of
Salt Lake City,
Utah, in the
Oquirrh Mountains. The mine is the largest human-made excavation in the world. ==Misconceptions==