Burning Man festival, GeoEye-1 satellite image. This annual September event is held in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA. From a small event in 1986 it has grown to over 40,000 people in 2009. The attendees are housed in the temporary camp city seen here, with streets forming a curved grid pattern. Centre Camp is at left (circular) while the eponymous effigy burning area is at upper right. Image data obtained on 1 September 2009. The US-operated GeoEye-1 satellite was launched in September 2008, and orbits at a height of 680 kilometres. It is the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite.