One
 of the Expedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space 
Station, some 240 miles above Earth, used a 50mm lens to record this 
oblique nighttime image of a large part of the nation's second largest 
state in area, including the four largest metropolitan areas in 
population. The extent of the metropolitan areas is easily visible at 
night due to city and highway lights.
The largest metro area, 
Dallas-Fort Worth, often referred to informally as the Metroplex, is the
 heavily cloud-covered area at the top center of the photo. Neighboring 
Oklahoma, on the north side of the Red River, less than 100 miles to the
 north of the Metroplex, appears to be experiencing thunderstorms. 
The 
Houston metropolitan area, including the coastal city of Galveston, is 
at lower right. To the east near the Texas border with Louisiana, the 
metropolitan area of Beaumont-Port Arthur appears as a smaller blotch of
 light, also hugging the coast of the Texas Gulf. Moving inland to the 
left side of the picture one can delineate the San Antonio metro area. 
The capital city of Austin can be seen to the northeast of San Antonio.
 
 
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