Holiday Lights From Space: Images From the Suomi NPP Satellite

Holiday Lights from Space: USA

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

A look at how city lights shine brighter during the holidays in the United States, as shown using a new analysis of data gathered by the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. Dark green pixels are areas where lights are at least 50 percent brighter during December. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Washington DC

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

A new analysis of data from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite shows that city lights shine brighter during the holidays in the U.S. Dark green pixels are areas where lights are at least 50 percent brighter during December. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: LA, Las Vegas and Phoenix

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

Image showing how Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix shine more brightly during December. Scientists used data from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite to create this view. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: SF Bay Area

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights across San Francisco Bay Area shine more brightly in December than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Texas and Louisiana

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This mage, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights across Texas and Louisiana shine more brightly in December than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Florida

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights across Texas and Louisiana shine more brightly in December than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Atlanta

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights in Atlanta and other parts of the American South shine more brightly in December than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Puerto Rico, Hispaniola

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights across Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic shine more brightly in December than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

Holiday Lights from Space: Middle East

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

City lights brighten in several cities in North Africa and the Middle East during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as shown by an analysis using data from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. Dark green pixels are areas where the lights are at least 50 percent brighter during Ramadan. [Read full story.]

Brighter Lights During Ramadan: Istanbul

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights in Istanbul shine more brightly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan than they do during the rest of the year. [Read full story.]

City Lights from Space: Saudi Arabia

NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen

This image, created using data from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite, shows how lights in several cities in Saudi Arabia brighten during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. [Read full story.]

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.