North Korea is Dark

GlobalSecurity.org ^

[n2rox]

South Korea is bright, North Korea is dark. This amazing image was made by the orbiting Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite over regions of the world at night. The DMSP is a Department of Defense (DoD) program run by the Air Force Space and Missle Systems Center (SMC). The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites carry the Operational Linescan System (OLS) in low-altitude polar orbits. These satellites record nighttime data. The Operational Linescan System has a unique low-light imaging capability ddeveloped for the detection of clouds using moonlight. In addition to moonlit clouds, the OLS also detects lights from human settlements,fires, gas flares, heavily lit fishing boats, lightning and the aurora. It is possible to distinguish four primary types of lights present at the earth's surface: human settlements, fires, gas flares, and fishing boats.

[maica]

a solitary and insignificant feeling
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That is a common view. Another is to feel enhanced by viewing all that. It's big, you are part of that, you are part of something big.
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Which category were you, Travis? I was in the "whole ocean and sky were part of my living room" category.

[SamAdams76]

Maybe they all read Al Gore's book and took it serious.

[Travis McGee]

I was really into the moon. Black nights with no moon and cloud cover hiding the stars in mid ocean, that's the blackest black you can get, like being in a spaceship in mid galaxy.

Stars alone and no moon, that's the inverted bowl of diamonds suspended over the round black velvet table. The constellations really come alive when you can see all the 3rd and 4th tier stars in between the "famous" stars making them.

OTOH, a full moon night with no clouds or only thin clouds is incredibly benign and beautiful, swells rolling into the boat with the moon making that undulating glimmer path... magic.

[AmericanInTokyo]

While I believe the other photos, something about the photo in post#8 strikes me as being 'contrived'. Too much of a black dark difference between the North and the South, that leaves out even any trace of lighting from Pyongyang. Pyongyang's light, as dim as it may be, is certainly just as strong as some of the rural areas I recognize lit in the south, considering the size of the city and eyewitness reports on the ground.

I think when you scroll down you see more accurate photos; one does show a small whitened area for where Pyongyang should be. Just trying to be objective.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Also adding to the fact that the photo in #8 was apparantly taken at 8:16 p.m. local time in April, one does wonder why there is not even a speck of lighting in North Korea, when the other photos clearly show the lights of not only Pyongyang, but of the port cities of Wonsan and Chongjin as well.

Something still ain't right about that first photo, IMHO.

Why is the lighting also missing from Dadong, Shenyang and Dalian in China north of DPRK, which themselves are no shabby villages but rather streaming w/ light at night?

[steveo]

HEY! I can see my house!

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

Sounds like Cali in the summer.

[PatrioticAmerican]

jeez, you really know how to make a guy crave the sea again. I remember floating in lagoons at night looking at a black sky filled with stars and thinking why go back stateside, it doesn't get any better than this. That, and having the night preceded with a day of diving, sailing, jet skiing, and BBQ. Fresh ocean fish, nothing like it.

[Travis McGee]

One possible explanation for the two NK light conditions (dim and none) would be that the regime is on strict "power hours."

IOW, at 8:59 PM, there is light. Then at the sroke of nine PM, at 20 power stations, 20 master switches are thrown (who will argue with an order in NK?) and the country goes dark virtually all at once (except for Dear Leader's palaces etc with their own generators and fuel supplies).

This would be very cool to watch on streaming satellite video, if there is such a thing.

[Travis McGee]

Oh man! Pulling in a 20 pound mahi mahi on the meat hook hand over hand, fillet it on deck and have him for lunch in 15 minutes. Or grabbing lobsters while snorkeling... and on and on. It doesn't get any better! Once I had worked out a "freedom scale", my own.

/1/ Death Row........ >...... /10/ Ocean Sailing.

An apartment, suburbs etc fall in between.

[txhurl]

Exquisitely beautiful night-light-scape.. post #9

[LibWhacker]

No streaming satellite video that I know of, but here's that giant NASA composite shot of lights on Earth at night. You can see all of S. Korea is well-lit, then beginning right at the DMZ northwards, almost total darkness. Pitiful.

[LibWhacker]

Uhhhhh . . . Never mind, lol! . . . I just look for the good posters I know and respond to them!

[PatrioticAmerican]

BBQ mahi or my fav, beer battered Ono balls! Two dozen balls and a cooler stretched out on the beach leaning on a palm tree at sunset watching the waves lap the sand and a beauty thinking she's getting some. what was I thinking living in landlocked colorado?

[Travis McGee]

Those dreams and memories are strictly verboten to married men over 40!

[Travis McGee]

I figured I'd give you a few minutes to scope the pics! LOL!

[LibWhacker]

Talk about pitiful! How embarrassing! You'd think I'd learn.

Okay, here's my belated New Year's resolution: I won't pipe in until I've at least checked out what others are saying.

[wardaddy]

I was looking at Orion out in the country last night coming out of the woods at deer camp and I started babbling to my little brother all that ocean navigation folklore.

Orion...I love those 3 pups. Memories.

I was always a Kingfish steak man myself....they'll bite at anything.

[Positive]

"Hey, I'm all for lighting the ground, but what's the point of lighting up space, or air a mile up? Looking for something up there? :)"

I live near the Mt. Palomar observatory in Southern California, in a area that was developed less than 15 years ago (Temecula Valley) and the street lighting is designed so that no light goes up (unless you count the lighted ground). I'm sure that a high altitude photo would hardly pick it up. Population 125,000.

[Travis McGee]

Orion's belt was always my favorite. He cheers me up every time. Folks who have not been to sea cannot appreciate that the "famous" stars are only about 20% of what the ancients were using to picture the constellations. I really treasure the good nights at sea. The bad ones too, but in a different way. I hope this comes through in the book in Brad's longing to escape to sea.