Earth Lights From Space
Browse the earth at night on worldview.
Earth lights from space. Read an earth observatory feature about improvements and applications for night lights data. Download the flat global map. Earth s city lights this image of earth s city lights was created with data from the defense meteorological satellite program dmsp operational linescan system ols. This composite image which has become a popular poster shows a global view of earth at night compiled from over 400 satellite images.
The increased detail of city lights available from astronaut photography can help refine urban boundaries defined from. City lights provide sharp boundaries that delineate the densest concentrations of people a characteristic that has been used to assess the effect of urbanization on earth s ecosystems. Originally designed to view clouds by moonlight the ols is also used to map the locations of permanent lights on the earth s surface. From a geographic perspective cities at night tell different stories about a region.
Download hemisphere views and animations. This new global view and animation of earth s city lights is a composite assembled from data acquired by the suomi npp satellite. It took 312 orbits to get a clear shot of every parcel of earth s land surface and islands. This view of earth shows the global city lights as seen by the defense meteorological satellite.
Nasa researchers have used these images of nighttime lights to study weather around urban areas.