Netizens praise Taiwan's beauty as NASA night image goes viral

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-01-26

The oblique night image taken by the crew of Expedition 40 from the
International Space Station on July 27, 2014. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

A spectacular night image of Taiwan taken from the International Space Station last year as gone viral, with many netizens commenting on the beauty of the island, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

The image released on NASA's website taken by Expedition 40 last year on July 27 from 375 kilometers above the surface of the planet, shows a brightly lit Taiwan in the foreground with mainland China beyond, along with lights from hundreds of fishing vessels in clusters throughout the panorama.

In the photo, the west strip of Taiwan from north to south is especially bright, with the main cities of Taipei, Taichung and Tainan all standing out. Yilan county in the northeastern past of the country offers the only significant cluster of light along the east coast.

Most have commented on the beauty of the island, with some likening Taiwan to a "glowing potato."

Others have raised environmental concerns from thinking of the power needed for so many lights, saying Taiwan's beautiful night view comes at the expense of the planet.

According to Taiwan's National Applied Research Laboratories, the country's Formosat-2 satellite, responsible disaster prevention, takes similar photos all the time, though there are no night shots as the photos are all taken at 10am every morning.