Comments:  This bogus image began circulating via email within days of the northeast blackout of August 14, 2003. It doesn't stand up under scrutiny.

For example:

1. There is no imaging satellite named "GeoStar."
2. The timestamp shows "23:15 EST," but satellite images are usually marked "UT" (Universal Time) — anyway, the U.S. is currently on Daylight Savings Time.
3. The "blackout" portion of the image extends too far south and not far enough west.
4. The "blackout" portion of the image is too dark — on close examination, darker even than the pitch-black shade of the ocean and waterways — as compared to the dark blue of the less-inhabited land areas visible elsewhere in the picture.
5. Compare the faux image to actual satellite photographs of the event, which cover a much smaller area and are considerably less dramatic.

The emailed photo is, in fact, a cropped, doctored version of a well-known composite image created from satellite photos taken between 1994 and 1995 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program.

Sources and further reading:

NOAA Images of Northeast Blackout
Actual satellite images of northeastern U.S. before and after the August 14, 2003 blackout. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Last updated: 08/22/03