The above image of North and South
America at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP
satellite in April and October 2012. The new data was mapped over existing Blue
Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet.
For more such images of our planet, read
Earth at Night, NASA's latest ebook that features dazzling photographs and
images from space of Earth’s nightlights. For nearly 25 years, satellite images
of Earth at night have served as a fundamental research tool, while also
stoking public curiosity. The images paint an expansive and revealing picture,
showing how humans have illuminated and shaped the planet in profound ways
since the invention of the light bulb 140 years ago.
This image's striking nighttime view was
made possible by Suomi’s “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging
Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to
near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city
lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires and reflected moonlight. In this case,
auroras, fires and other stray light have been removed to emphasize the city
lights.
Image Credit: NASA
Last Updated: Dec. 11, 2019
Editor: Yvette Smith
Tags:
Earth, Image of the Day, Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership)
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