Moonlight and starlight reflect light off bodies of water, snow, clouds, and deserts as well as airglow.Ĭomposite Map of the Earth at Night, 2012. Auroras create light shows in the polar regions. Natural light sources emanate from wildfires and volcano activity. Oil and gas wells burn against dark backgrounds. Particularly around dense urban areas, man made light sources dominate. The imagery captures a multitude of light sources. Night Light Sources from Fires, Artificial Light, and Airglow The satellite circles the earth 14 times per day, and captures imagery from any given point on the earth twice per day. NPP flies in a polar orbit at an altitude of 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface of the earth.

The satellite was named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi. The imagery has also captured what is known as airglow, this is the faint glow the night sky emits, meaning even in the absence of man made lights, the night sky is never completely dark. This means that illumination from individual street lamps, gas flares, and isolated fishing boats can be captured. This new technology allows the satellite to capture night lights with a six fold increase in spatial resolution and 250 times better resolution of lighting levels (dynamic range) than with previous satellite imagery captures. This satellite contains a low-light sensor called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) The latest release of nighttime imagery has been greatly improved through the use of the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite which was launched in October of 2011. The last global composite of the earth’s night lights was created in 2003. NASA has released an update of its popular Earth at Night composite satellite imagery.

Nasa blue marble geotiff maps