Image of the Day: what does Houston, TX look like from space?

In early 2010, NASA took this gorgeous shot of Houston, Texas. Captured at night from the International Space Station, this image "depicts the roughly 100 kilometers (approximately 62 miles) east-west extent of the Houston metropolitan area."

In other words, this is one big city, apparently the largest in the United States without formal zoning guidelines. This means Houston's 5 million residents get to enjoy roughly 9,000 square miles of land, which has led to diverse land-use patterns.

That's pretty cool.