The bright lights of the Earth at night

The bright lights of the Earth at night Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features a series of photos captured by Paolo Nespoli while flying over the planet from Spain to Russia.

This incredible time-lapse represents how the Earth is seen from the International Space Station at nighttime. The Night Earth map shows the lights that are visible at night 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.

NASA scientists have just released the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012. This nighttime look at our home planet, dubbed the Black Marble, provides researchers with a unique perspective of human activities around the globe. Scientists unveiled today an unprecedented new look at our planet at night. 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.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: European Space Agency