Our photo today has been digitally altered by NASA’s Earth Observatory team to remove natural light. Doing so reveals just how much artificial light human settlements generate. We share this image to draw attention to the observance of World Population Day today. The event was inspired by the Day of Five Billion on July 11, 1987, when the United Nations estimates our global population reached that milestone. Each year, World Population Day encourages us to think about how our growing numbers might affect our future, and the future of the planet we live on.
Evidence of human habitation
Today in History
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					Coming home to roost
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					Oh, the places you’ll go
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					Life in the slow lane
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					Mada’in Saleh archeological site in Saudi Arabia
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					Porto, Portugal
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					Happy winter solstice!
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					A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
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					Salmon migration in full swing
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					The Big Blue of the Sierra
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					Christmas tree at Crystal Pier, San Diego, California
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					Nursing the world to health
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					What’s blooming in New Zealand?
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					Astronomy Day and National Public Lands Day
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					Did it see its shadow?
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					International Day for Biological Diversity
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					Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve in Layton, Utah
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					Black History Month
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					From the mind of Frank Gehry
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					World Space Week begins
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					Stuben am Arlberg, Austria
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					International Talk Like a Pirate Day
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					Jan van Eyckplein in Bruges, Belgium
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					Wind Cave National Park celebrates 120 years
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					National Park Week: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
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					Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California
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					Happy Birthday, Eiffel Tower
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					Great hornbill, Thailand
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					National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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					Corona Arch near Moab, Utah
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					Celebrating Festivus
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