Earth at Night 2012

  • Released Friday, April 5, 2013
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This new space-based view of Earth's city lights is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. The data was acquired over nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012. It took the satellite 312 orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth's land surface and islands. This new data was then mapped over existing MODIS Blue Marble imagery to provide a realistic view of the planet.

The view was made possible by the "day-night band" of Suomi NPP's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses "smart" light sensors to observe dim signals such as city lights, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. This low-light sensor can distinguish night lights tens to hundreds of times better than previous satellites.

Flat map of the whole Earth

Flat map of the whole Earth

Flat map of the United States

Flat map of the United States

View of the night lights over the United States projected on a globe.

View of the night lights over the United States projected on a globe.

Enlarged view of the United States with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of the United States with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of Central America

Flat map of Central America

Enlarged view of the Caribbean with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of the Caribbean with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of South America

Flat map of South America

Enlarged view of South America with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of South America with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of Europe

Flat map of Europe

Enlarged view of Europe with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of Europe with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of the Middle East and India

Flat map of the Middle East and India

Enlarged view of the Middle East with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of the Middle East with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of India with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of India with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of Asia

Flat map of Asia

Enlarged view of eastern Asia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of eastern Asia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of southeast Asia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of southeast Asia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Flat map of Australia

Flat map of Australia

Enlarged view of Australia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

Enlarged view of Australia with a resolution of about 750 meters per pixel.

An animation of a close-up view of the earth with the night lights image as if from an orbiting satellite.

For More Information

See earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=79765

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense.

This page was originally published on Friday, April 5, 2013.
This page was last updated on Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 12:23 AM EDT.

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