Webquest – Bright Nights and City Lights

Many satellites are equipped to look at Earth during the day, when they can observe our planet fully illuminated by the sun. But what about at night?

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite is sensitive enough to detect the nocturnal glow produced by Earth's atmosphere and the light from a single ship in the sea.

Take some time to explore the Beautiful Earth Gallery. Find the "Night Lights, Big Cities" image and try to find the Nile River, Chicago, the boundary between North and South Korea, and the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.