We were only marvelling a couple of days ago - during a night flight back from t'other side of Pond - at the hazy orange glow permeating the whole of the south east of England. But the light pollution looks even more remarkable from higher up, as this 2003 image from the International Space Station attests.
It's interesting to note that some of the most obvious features of night time London are also its oldest. Several of the straight lines radiating from the centre are of Roman origin, and the brightest pixels of all are from the ancient City area.
Ironically, the space station itself is also quite a candle. Now under resumed construction, it's the brightest object in the night sky after the moon. What would the romans have made of that?
