{"id":9676,"date":"2012-12-13T14:05:46","date_gmt":"2012-12-13T21:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/?p=9676"},"modified":"2012-12-15T04:04:07","modified_gmt":"2012-12-15T11:04:07","slug":"nasa-satellite-offers-up-stunning-view-of-the-globe-at-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/astronomy\/nasa-satellite-offers-up-stunning-view-of-the-globe-at-night\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA satellite offers up stunning view of the globe at night"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 288px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-HkTVF7B57lo\/UMT6Lp9dmUI\/AAAAAAAAKu4\/0ny8_Q6mMw8\/s800\/earth_night_rotate_lrg.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"A stunning nighttime view of North and South America, the west cost of Africa and Europe. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.\" src=\"http:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/-HkTVF7B57lo\/UMT6Lp9dmUI\/AAAAAAAAKu4\/0ny8_Q6mMw8\/s288\/earth_night_rotate_lrg.jpg\" alt=\"A stunning nighttime view of North and South America, the west cost of Africa and Europe. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.\" width=\"288\" height=\"162\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A stunning nighttime view of North and South America, the west cost of Africa and Europe. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/Features\/BlueMarble\/\" target=\"_blank\">blue marble<\/a>\u2019 images captured by NASA satellites are extremely popular and showcase the Earth without borders in its natural beauty.\u00a0 New images dubbed \u2018black marble\u2019 show our planet at night with the lights of population dotting the landscape.<\/p>\n<p>The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite captured the images in April and October and were then stitched together to provide a cohesive, single view.\u00a0 NASA created a matching video that shows the planet rotating as the nighttime lights rotate on it.<\/p>\n<p>The imagery of the United States shows how much more densely populated the eastern half of the nation is versus the western half.\u00a0 A look at Colorado shows the main population centers of the Colorado Front Range along I-25 and the many smaller communities that dot the plains and mountains.<\/p>\n<p>See below for some of the stunning views and to view an animation of the Earth rotating.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-_SX-A4ETeyU\/UMT6NgskhKI\/AAAAAAAAKvQ\/bRR1OPB-yVA\/s800\/2012-12-09_133758.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"The night view of the contiguous United States clearly shows where the major population centers are and highlights the more sparsely populated west. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-_SX-A4ETeyU\/UMT6NgskhKI\/AAAAAAAAKvQ\/bRR1OPB-yVA\/s560\/2012-12-09_133758.jpg\" alt=\"The night view of the contiguous United States clearly shows where the major population centers are and highlights the more sparsely populated west. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.\" width=\"560\" height=\"355\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The night view of the contiguous United States clearly shows where the major population centers are and highlights the more sparsely populated west. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-0FeIe-EzWOE\/UMT6MXKvL1I\/AAAAAAAAKvA\/g-aV-dzEm0A\/s800\/2012-12-09_133345.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Nighttime satellite imagery of Colorado clearly shows the population centers of the Front Range. (NASA)\" src=\"http:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-0FeIe-EzWOE\/UMT6MXKvL1I\/AAAAAAAAKvA\/g-aV-dzEm0A\/s560\/2012-12-09_133345.jpg\" alt=\"Nighttime satellite imagery of Colorado clearly shows the population centers of the Front Range. (NASA)\" width=\"560\" height=\"430\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nighttime satellite imagery of Colorado clearly shows the population centers of the Front Range. (NASA) Click the image for a larger view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 560px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-fDU4nxCnj2Q\/UMT6M28r8UI\/AAAAAAAAKvE\/-xYybNralTA\/s800\/2012-12-09_134207.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"A zoomed in view of the Colorado Front Range and the area from Colorado Springs, through Denver and on to Cheyenne, WY. (NASA)\" src=\"http:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/-fDU4nxCnj2Q\/UMT6M28r8UI\/AAAAAAAAKvE\/-xYybNralTA\/s560\/2012-12-09_134207.jpg\" alt=\"A zoomed in view of the Colorado Front Range and the area from Colorado Springs, through Denver and on to Cheyenne, WY. (NASA)\" width=\"560\" height=\"454\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A zoomed in view of the Colorado Front Range and the area from Colorado Springs, through Denver and on to Cheyenne, WY. (NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LDuQ3PiHCsg\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>From NASA:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The night side of our planet twinkles with light, and the first thing to stand out is the cities. \u201cNothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights,\u201d asserts Chris Elvidge, a NOAA scientist who has studied them for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>This new global view and animation of Earth\u2019s city lights is a composite assembled from data acquired by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/npp.gsfc.nasa.gov\/\">Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership<\/a>\u00a0(Suomi NPP) satellite. The data was acquired over nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012. It took satellite 312 orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth\u2019s land surface and islands. This new data was then mapped over existing\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/Features\/BlueMarble\/\">Blue Marble imagery<\/a>\u00a0to provide a realistic view of the planet.<\/p>\n<p>To view the video of the night lights, click on the link below the image or visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LDuQ3PiHCsg\">our YouTube page.<\/a>\u00a0To view many more still images and maps of night lights, visit our new feature page:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/Features\/NightLights\/\">Earth at Night 2012.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The view was made possible by the \u201cday-night band\u201d of Suomi NPP\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/npp.gsfc.nasa.gov\/viirs.html\">Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite.<\/a>\u00a0VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses \u201csmart\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>Named for meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, the polar-orbiting satellite flies over any given point on Earth\u2019s surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Suomi NPP orbits 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface as it circles the planet 14 times a day. Data is sent once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite&#8217;s ground system.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the VIIRS day-night band and nighttime imaging of Earth in our new feature story:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/earthobservatory.nasa.gov\/Features\/IntotheBlack\/\">Out of the Blue and Into the Black.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>NASA Earth Observatory image and animation by Robert Simmon, using\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/npp.gsfc.nasa.gov\/viirs.html\">Suomi NPP VIIRS<\/a>\u00a0data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ngdc.noaa.gov\/dmsp\/dmsp.html\">National Geophysical Data Center<\/a>). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<dl>\n<dt>Instrument:\u00a0<\/dt>\n<dd>\n<blockquote><p>Suomi NPP &#8211; VIIRS<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u2018blue marble\u2019 images captured by NASA satellites are extremely popular and showcase the Earth without borders in its natural beauty.\u00a0 New images dubbed \u2018black marble\u2019 show our planet at night with the lights of population dotting the landscape. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite captured the images in April and October and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/astronomy\/nasa-satellite-offers-up-stunning-view-of-the-globe-at-night\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NASA satellite offers up stunning view of the globe at night<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[623,142,460],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9693,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9676\/revisions\/9693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thorntonweather.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}