Nasa Black Marble
By removing natural and stray light sources researchers have provided a clearer picture of the human footprint on earth and opened up new opportunities in disaster response demographics and applied research.
Nasa black marble. Nasa s black marble enables a wide range of applications for a broad spectrum of data users. A global composite image constructed using cloud free night images from a new nasa and national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa satellite shows the glow of natural and human built phenomena across the planet in greater detail than ever before. This image is one of several global images of the earth at night released in 2017. They have provided a broad beautiful picture showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.
Out of the blue and into the black. Vnp46 delivers daily global data to characterize human earth system interactions. Night light maps open up new applications. Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the earth than city lights asserts chris elvidge a noaa scientist who has studied them for 20 years.
Summaries of recent activities are available through the nasa earth observatory earth at night section. The night side of our planet twinkles with light and the first thing to stand out is the cities. Nasa goddard space flight center. Suomi npp is the result of a partnership between nasa noaa and the department of defense.
This results in larger noise reduction levels compared to top of atmosphere data. This new global view of earth s city lights is a composite assembled from data acqu. Nasa s black marble product suite vnp46 is being produced at 500 m resolution. Night lights 2012 the black marble.
Scientists unveiled today an unprecedented new look at our planet at night. Along with their primary purpose of supporting the short term weather prediction and disaster response communities they also provide new data for tracking wildfires gas flares and light pollution and have numerous socioeconomic uses such as proxying economic activity monitoring changes in. This enables both near real time uses and long term monitoring applications. Satellite images of earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years.
Nighttime lights are corrected for atmospheric brdf and seasonal effects.