Las Vegas is known for its neon and bright lights that light up the evening skyline. But is it possible to see Las Vegas from space?
And the answer is yes. If you happen to be in the International Space Station you will be able to view the lights of Las Vegas.
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Can You See The Luxor Light From Space?
The Luxor is a little more difficult to see from space. It all depends on the cloud cover or smog in the air.
Since 2008, only half of the lights are turned on each night, making the light half as bright as it was previously. This was, no doubt, due to the cheapskates at MGM Resorts, who took ownership of the Luxor in 2006.
The Luxor’s sky beam opened with the resort, on October 15th, 1993.
The main bright beam on top is set to timers, designed to turn on the light around dusk, turning it off at dawn. Strobe lights are turned on before the main beam is lit so as to not startle any airline pilots at nearby McCarran International Airport across the street. The whole system is run by computers.
So no, there’s not one giant switch you could flip on or off or cord to the plugin. You would however be immediately blinded if you were to be situated above the lights and look into them. How much heat do lights generate? At five inches above the light, temperatures have been measured at 500 degrees. According to reporter Sonya Padgett’s article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Luxors Light Turns on
She also reports that once the light was first turned on back in 1993, moths and other bugs were immediately drawn to it, which in turn, attracted bats who like to feast on the moths.
In addition the giant bream, the Luxor has distinctive light up and down the four corners of the pyramid.
Luxor Lighting Upgrades 1997
In 1997, lighting was added along with all four corners of the Luxor. This was done after a four-year project designed to alleviate concerns that the resort didn’t stick out as an attraction compared to other brightly-lit resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, and that you couldn’t really see the Luxor at night, due to it being all black glass.