THIS PHOTO IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.

BE SURE TO READ THE TEXT BELOW TO
HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF
WHAT YOU ARE VIEWING.

IT IS HISTORIC TOO AS THIS IS THE
LAST MISSION FOR COLUMBIA.

After you look at the picture - scroll
to the bottom to read the description
and then back to the picture.

The photograph was taken by the crew
on board the Columbia during its last
mission, on a cloudless day.

The picture is of Europe and Africa
when the sun is setting.

Half of the picture is in night.

The bright dots you see are the cities' lights.

The top part of Africa is the Sahara Desert.

The lights are already on in Holland, Paris,
and Barcelona, and it's still daylight
in Dublin, London, Lisbon, and Madrid.

The sun is still shining on the
Strait of Gibraltar.

The Mediterranean Sea is already in darkness.

In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean you can
see the Azores Islands; below them to the
right are the Madeira Islands; a bit below
are the Canary Islands; and further South,
close to the farthest western point of Africa,
are the Cape Verde islands.

The Sahara is huge and can be seen clearly
both during daytime and night time.

To the left, on top, is Greenland, totally frozen.
~~~