Earth at night

This NASA image from a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012 shows the city lights of earth at night. The new data was mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet. NASA has released new composite images of earth taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. A new sensor aboard the NPP satellite is enabling scientists to observe Earth's atmosphere and surface during nighttime hours, in greater detail than ever before.

Credit: NASA