NASA has released night time imagery of the central Mediterranean region, taken three weeks ago by astronauts on board the International Space Station.

The photo above shows the Italian peninsula and Malta in the lower left.

Alexei Pace, for the Light Pollution Awareness Group of the Astronomical Society of Malta said is was a shame that Malta was seen as one big glow from space.

This, he said, meant sheer waste of energy from over-illuminated buildings and roads.

"Floodlighting should be directed downwards and not into the night sky. Countryside roads should not be lit but good use of reflective cats' eyes should be made in all ODZ areas. Non-essential lighting (churches, sports grounds, buildings etc.) should be switched off after a few hours. This will save energy, reduce carbon emissions, bring back the night sky into the cities and limit the development of ODZ areas."

He said that action was required from the authorities to protect the 'dark-sky heritage' in the few pristine areas left in north west Malta as was done in Gozo and Comino in the 2006 local plan.

This night time panorama of much of Europe was photographed by one of the Expedition 32 crew members aboard the International Space Station flying approximately 240 miles above the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 18, 2012.