Earth at Night
Satellite images of Earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.
Black Marble: Spheres and Animations
Download hemisphere views and global animations of the Earth at Night.
Black Marble: Flat Maps
Download flat map views of the Earth at Night (in JPEG and GeoTIFF).
Black Marble 2017: Night Light Maps Open Up New Applications
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.
Black Marble 2012: Out of the Blue and Into the Black
The night is nowhere near as dark as most of us think. In fact, the Earth is never really dark; it twinkles with lights from humans and nature.
Earth at Night Collection
The Large Magellanic Cloud—one of our closest neighboring galaxies—is a hotbed of star formation that is visible to both astronauts…
An astronaut photographed moonglint shimmering across the sea surface and the bright clusters of Florida’s cities at night.
The nighttime lightscape of Argentina’s largest metropolitan area reveals transportation corridors and variations in lighting types.
An astronaut captured a moonrise—and much more—in a series of photos taken from the International Space Station.
A long-exposure photo taken from low Earth orbit captured the brilliant illumination coming from airglow, lightning, and stars.
Far above the Arctic Circle, the landscape around Utqiaġvik, Alaska, transforms from a frozen tundra to a mosaic of ponds…
Satellite-derived maps of nighttime lights in southern Spain revealed power outages that persisted across rural areas as the region was…
An astronaut orbiting over Southeast Asia captured a colorful photo of the lights from boats, ports, and other lit infrastructure.
The older and newer cities of the Greater Cairo region look very different at night when viewed from above.
Satellite observations at night indicate that oil, gas, and mining have expanded across Earth’s northern latitudes.
An astronaut’s sweeping nighttime photograph of Namibia and South Africa reveals the region’s lighted communities, many of which are centered…
A powerful geomagnetic storm caused a display of light that was visible unusually far from Earth’s poles.
