Pick of the pics
The Earth at night
January 07, 2013
posted by Dr. Amber Jenkins
10:41 PST
posted by Dr. Amber Jenkins
10:41 PST
![Pick of the pics](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130214034006im_/http://climate.nasa.gov/system/news_items/main_images/black-marble-round_536px.jpg)
Earth at night, as seen by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, a joint effort by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory and NOAA National Geophysical Data Center.
This is a new image of our planet at night, as taken by a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite orbiting above us. Scientists recently unveiled this global composite image (and the one below), constructed using cloud-free nighttime images. They show the glow of natural and man-made phenomena across the planet in greater detail than ever seen before. City lights can tell us about how humans have spread across the globe.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130214034006im_/http://climate.nasa.gov/system/image_uploads/main/pick-of-pics-07-01-13_536px.jpg?1357584041)
Many satellites are equipped to look at Earth during the day, when they can observe our planet fully illuminated by the sun. But with a new sensor onboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite launched last year, scientists now can observe Earth's atmosphere and surface during nighttime hours.
For more Earth at night images, see this article.
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