http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/CitiesAtNight/NASA and NOAA joined forces to make a world map of the nighttime Earth. They used 9 months of data collected from 1 kilometer ( .62miles) above the Earth. The International Space Station moves more then 15,659 miles per hour relative to Earth's surface. night images require long exposure times. How do we get pictures that are not blurry? In 2002-2003 Don Pettit ( part of International Space Station Expedition 6 made a barn-door tracker. A camera mounted on a hinged platform that can be moved slowly by turning a knob. This allows photographers to compenste for the rotation of the Earth relative to the to the Space Station. Lots more information at the above link.
