What are the mysterious light sources on light pollution maps?

Re:What are the mysterious light sources on light pollution ... by BurningFrog on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @08:05PM (#22480321)

Yeah, there is a pretty distinct line from Winnipeg to San Antonio, separating light from dark.

If you look at a population density map, it looks quite similar: http://dafi1637.blogspot.com/2017/10/united-states-populatio...

I think that explains the immediate effect. You can of course then wonder why the population is distributed that way, but I feel I've done enough here :)

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Re:What are the mysterious light sources on light pollution ... by dylan604 on Tuesday March 03, 2020 @08:56PM (#22480555)

>Yeah, there is a pretty distinct line from Winnipeg to San Antonio, separating light from dark.

That's the I-35 corridor. An interstate highway running north/south all the way from Mexico to Canada. It was probably the most hyped/utilized part of NAFTA. I live in Dallas where I-35 runs through (actually splits in Waco to cover both Dallas and Ft. Worth, reconnecting north around Denton). I grew up in a small city south of Dallas, and remember all of the highway construction that got spurred by NAFTA. That area (Ellis county) also had a construction boon due to the Super Conduction Super Collider.

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