[Soothing]

Dear Congressman, what bout Australia and Canada, how do you explain they are much darker? And since the photo was published 5 years ago, you need updated info for sure.

[Congressman Billybob]

Australia and Canada have some significant lights, despite having very low population per acre statistics. Compare their spotty lights to the near darkness in central China and sub-Sahara Africa, for instance.

As for "more recent data," this photograph is a professionally-done composite of perhaps hundreds of individual photographs to get all parts of the Earth at night, and in cloudless weather. If and when NASA does this detailed work again, the photo will be updated.

John / Billybob