Image:Earthlights dmsp.jpg

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English: Composite image of the Earth at night, created by NASA and NOAA.

NASA Description: This image of Earth’s city lights was created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). Originally designed to view clouds by moonlight, the OLS is also used to map the locations of permanent lights on the Earth’s surface.
The brightest areas of the Earth are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated. (Compare western Europe with China and India.) Cities tend to grow along coastlines and transportation networks. Even without the underlying map, the outlines of many continents would still be visible. The United States interstate highway system appears as a lattice connecting the brighter dots of city centers. In Russia, the Trans-Siberian railroad is a thin line stretching from Moscow through the centre of Asia to Vladivostok. The Nile River, from the Aswan Dam to the Mediterranean Sea, is another bright thread through an otherwise dark region.
Even more than 100 years after the invention of the electric light, some regions remain thinly populated and unlit. Antarctica is entirely dark. The interior jungles of Africa and South America are mostly dark, but lights are beginning to appear there. Deserts in Africa, Arabia, Australia, Mongolia, and the United States are poorly lit as well (except along the coast), along with the boreal forests of Canada and Russia, and the great mountains of the Himalaya. Also noticeable is the dramatic contrast in light emission between South Korea and North Korea.
Visualization Date: 2000-10-23

Français : Image composite de la terre la nuit, créée par la NASA et la NOAA

Description par la NASA: Image de la lumière artificielle de la terre créée par la caméra OLS des satellites du programme DMSP. OLS était au départ concu pour voir la lumière de la lune reflétée par les nuages mais fonctionne aussi très bien pour mesurer la lumiere émise de nuit par les villes par beau temps.
Les zones les plus lumineuses sont les plus urbanisées, mais pas nécéssairement les plus peuplées (comparer l'Europe et l'Inde ou la Chine). Les villes se répandent le long des côtes et des voies de communication. Les côtes de la pluspart des continents sont visibles, ainsi que le réseau autoroutier américain. On peut aussi observer un trait de lumière suivant le transsiberien en Russie, le cours du Nil en Afrique ou la vallée du Rhône en Europe.
Certaines régions sont dans le noir: Les déserts du sahara et de la péninsule arabique, de l'ouest américain, de Mongolie ou d'Australie, les forêts boréales du Canada et de Sibérie, et les grandes montagnes himalayennes. On voit aussi les différences d'émission entre les deux Corées.

Picture of the day This image was selected as a picture of the day for March 11, 2006. It was captioned as followed:
English: Composite image of the Earth at night

Alemannisch: Zommegsetzts Bild vun de Erd bie Nacht
Български: Съставно изображение на Земята нощем
Česky: Složený satelitní snímek Země v noci
Deutsch: Die Erde bei Nacht (zusammengesetztes Bild)
English: Composite image of the Earth at night
Español: Imagen compuesta de la Tierra de noche
Suomi: Mosaiikkikuva öisestä maapallosta.
Français : Image composée de la terre la nuit.
Galego: A Terra de noite
Magyar: Kompozíció a Föld éjszakai felvételeiből
Íslenska: Jörðin í myrkrinu (samsett mynd)
Italiano: Immagine composta della Terra di notte.
日本語: 夜の 地球の合成写真
Lëtzebuergesch: D'Äerd bei Nuecht.
‪Norsk (bokmål)‬: Sammensatt bilde av jorden om natten.
‪Norsk (nynorsk)‬: Samansett bilete av jorda om natta.
Polski: Mozaika zdjęć satelitarnych Ziemi wykonanych w nocy.
Português: Imagem composta de Terra à noite
Русский: Земля ночью (составное изображение)
Српски / Srpski: Састављена слика Земље ноћу
‪中文(简体)‬: 地球夜景合成照片

Source

The original TIFF image can be found at
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/images/1438/land_lights_16384.tif
16384w x 8192h, 40.6 MB, colour (true)

Image description from http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=1438

Credit

Data courtesy Marc Imhoff of NASA GSFC and Christopher Elvidge of NOAA NGDC. Image by Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC.


Public domain
This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". ( NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy).

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  • Use of NASA logos, insignia and emblems are restricted per US law 14 CFR 1221.
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Public domain This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made during the course of an employee's official duties.


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File history

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Date/Time Dimensions User Comment
current 23:16, 24 October 2005 16,384×8,192 (8.11 MB) Bricktop (full res)
11:38, 21 July 2005 2,400×1,200 (534 KB) Nk (''Composite image of the Earth at night, created by NASA and NOAA.'' '''NASA Description''': This image of Earth’s city lights was created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS).)
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