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"Satellite Photo of Earth at Night"
Shown below is a collection of famous NASA images that are often called "satellite photos of Earth at night." They aren't really "photos". Instead, they are images that were compiled using data from a sensor aboard NASA’s Suomi satellite. Each white dot on the maps represents the light of a city, a fire, a ship at sea, an oil well flare, or another light source. A full-Earth image is shown below along with detailed images of the United States, Europe and Africa, South America, Asia and Australia.
Satellite Photo of the World at Night - Click on a region for a more detailed view |
This map shows the geographic distribution of cities. It clearly shows that cities are concentrated in Europe, the eastern United States, Japan, China, and India. It is a better map for showing the geography of night time electricity consumption for outdoor lighting than it is for showing the geography of population. For example: the eastern United States is very bright, but the more densely populated areas of China and India are not nearly as bright in this image because the amount of light per person is smaller. NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite Photo of the World at Night - Click on an area for a more detailed view |
This map shows the geographic distribution of cities. It clearly shows that cities are concentrated in Europe, the eastern United States, Japan, China, and India. It is a better map for showing the geography of night time electricity consumption for outdoor lighting than it is for showing the geography of population. For example: the eastern United States is very bright, but the more densely populated areas of China and India are not nearly as bright in this image because the amount of light per person is smaller. NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite Photo of Europe and Africa at Night - Click on the image for a more detailed view |
Western Europe is aglow with night lights. This image clearly shows that the cities of Europe are along the coasts. The Mediterranean coasts of Italy, France and Spain are a solid line of light as are the southern shorelines of the Black and Caspian Seas. The Sahara of northern Africa and the jungles of south-central Africa are largely void of illuminated cities. One of the most striking features on this image is the high concentration of cities on the Nile River, downstream from the Aswan Dam. NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite Photo of Asia and Australia at Night - Click the image for a more detailed view |
Japan stands out on this satellite view of Asia at night, along with the west coast of Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad can be seen as a light line across the otherwise dark area of northern Russia. High city densities in eastern China, Indonesia, India and the eastern coast of Australia can clearly be seen. NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite Photo of the United States at Night - Click on the image for a more detailed view |
This map shows the geographic distribution of night time lights in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Strong lights occur in a strand that includes Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City and Boston. Most of the large cities of Canada are located within a couple hundred miles of the United States border. Chicago stands out on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, and other major cities in the central states are connected by a network of highways. On the west coast, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego stand out. The coastlines of Florida and Puerto Rico are lined with bright cities. Finally, the cities of Hawaii and oil facilities of the north Alaska coast are also "visible from space." NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite Photo of South America at Night - Click on the image for a more detailed view |
The cities of South America are mainly concentrated on the southwestward-facing Atlantic coast, along the Pacific coast and northern Colombia and Venezuela. Large areas of the Amazon Basin are without bright cities, and some of the night lights there might actually be the fires of deforestation and agricultural burning. NASA Image. Click to view larger image.
Satellite View of Earth At Night
In daylight, our big blue marble is all land, oceans, and clouds. But the night - is electric. This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation. Video by NASA.
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