Spectacular images of the Earth at night were captured by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite, a joint program of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration.

The satellite, launched last year, has a sensor that allows scientists to more closely observe Earth’s atmosphere and surface during nighttime hours. It is sensitive enough, says a NASA press release, to detect the light from a single ship in the sea.



The new images were released Wednesday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.



The video combines the Earth-at-night view created by NASA’s Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center with the EO Blue Marble: Next Generation.



Click on the image below for a bigger version.





