14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States, otherwise known as NASA, released a photo showing night lights in Europe as seen from space.
On its website, the Administration details that the photo was taken earlier this year, on March 5, by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
It shows two cities in Belgium, i.e. Brussels and Antwerp, together with part of the Scheldt River. The Brussels airport is also visible in this photo.
According to recent estimates, the city of Brussels is currently home to about 1.2 million people, and other 6,000 live in its accompanying metropolitan area.
Hence, it should not come as a surprise that this major urban area, which is currently Belgium's largest and capital city, appears as bright as it does during nighttime, specialists say.
As cool as this photo might be, it appears that astronomers aboard the International Space Station are not all that happy about how well lit up these cities in Belgium and others across Europe are.
This is because, too often, the light pollution that such well-developed urban areas produce makes it difficult to observe stars. Besides, studies have shown that light pollution can also affect the behavior of animals.