Not too long ago NASA released beautiful photographs of the Earth at night. Illuminated mostly by the lights at night it painted a beautiful picture of how dark certain portions of the world really are.

I took the time to precisely locate certain places on the map. Just take a moment to compare the light pollution of say Chicago, Illinois to Havre or Cleveland, Montana. Even Madison, Wisconsin looks positively polluted with electrical lights when compared to the western portion of the U.S. Perhaps one of the most interesting places on the map, though, is that area of the map near Williston, North Dakota. Otherwise known as the Bakken oil field, this part of the country has been booming in recent years with shale oil production. And this aerial view of the country proves it visually.

Simply amazing.

Also be sure to watch this video to see what night looks like from the International Space Station (ISS) where the above photograph was captured and created.