Abstract Dynamics: Nightout

I don't think this is real? It still looks like Canada and Detroit are still lit up? Where did you get this image from?

Posted by: mike m on August 22, 2003 05:53 PM

It's not real: there's no moonlight reflection like there is for all the rest of the American landmass without electric light. Snopes debunks it at http://www.snopes.com/photos/blackout.asp.

Posted by: Felix on August 22, 2003 06:05 PM

Glad I put it up without comment ;) And it does looking sneakingly like someone just photoshopped that massively circulated picture of the whole globe lit up... Still pretty of course.

Posted by: Abe on August 22, 2003 06:36 PM

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories/s2015.htm

is poorly written, but has what seem to be real pictures. What's striking is actually how much light the urban areas were still generating.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/nightlights/blackout081403-20hrsbefore.jpg
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/nightlights/blackout081503-7hrsafter.jpg

and yeah there is a reason I never made any claims about the photo actually was of the blackout, although I still feel like a sucker for not outright seeing the hoax. Still even as I posted it I knew it looked a bit too much like this classic image, which got major email circulation a few years back:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights2_dmsp_big.jpg

pretty clear someone just took photoshop to that image...

Posted by: Abe on August 23, 2003 10:21 AM

The picture at the top is completely fake. All of Michigan and southern Cananda were out of power and this picture does no show it. Also it is pure black where there is no light, there WERE a few spots of light.

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