Earth at Night: It’s the end of the night as you know it; you’ll see fine.

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Black Marble 2017: Night Light Maps Open Up New Applications

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: Spheres and Animations

Black Marble: Spheres and Animations

Download hemisphere views and global animations of the Earth at Night.

Earth at Night: Flat Maps

Earth at Night: Flat Maps

Download flat map views of the Earth at Night (in JPEG and GeoTIFF).

Black Marble 2012: Out of the Blue and Into the Black

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.

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By Michael Carlowicz Design by Paul Przyborski April 12, 2017

Scientists are using images of Earth’s dark side to gain insight on human activity and poorly understood natural events.

Black Marble: Spheres and Animations

2016 Animation

2016 city_lights_africa

Full 360° animated rotation in high definition resolution (1920x1080 1080p MOV 49.3 MB)

2012 Animation

2012 city_lights_africa

Full 360° animated rotation in high definition resolution (1920x1080 1080p MOV 48.7 MB)

Still Imagery

North America

Earth at Night, the Americas
View Large Image (4960x4000 PNG 12.3 MB)

Africa

Earth at Night, Africa and Europe
View Large Image (4960x4000 PNG 11.4 MB)

Asia Night

Earth at Night, Asia and Australia
View Large Image (4960x4000 PNG 13.8 MB)

2012 Archive

View the 2012 Black Marble imagery.

Earth at Night: Flat Maps

Global Map Downloads - 2016 Color

To download a file to your hard drive, right-click on the file link and select "Save As...".

Download Full Resolution (500m) By Region - 2016 Color

Each regional tile is 21600x21600 and available as a GeoTIFF or a JPEG.

A1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
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A2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)

 

Global Map Downloads - 2012 Color

To download a file to your hard drive, right-click on the file link and select "Save As...".

Download Full Resolution (500m) By Region - 2012 Color

Each regional tile is 21600x21600 and available as a GeoTIFF or a JPEG.

A1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
sample tile image
A2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)

 

Global Map Downloads - 2016 Grayscale

To download a file to your hard drive, right-click on the file link and select "Save As...".

Download Full Resolution (500m) By Region - 2016 Grayscale

Each regional tile is 21600x21600 and available as a GeoTIFF or a JPEG.

A1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
sample tile image
A2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)

 

Global Map Downloads - 2012 Grayscale

To download a file to your hard drive, right-click on the file link and select "Save As...".

Download Full Resolution (500m) By Region - 2012 Grayscale

Each regional tile is 21600x21600 and available as a GeoTIFF or a JPEG.

A1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
sample tile image
A2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)

 

Global Map Downloads - v2012

To download a file to your hard drive, right-click on the file link and select "Save As...".

Download Full Resolution (750m) By Region - v2012

Each regional tile is 13500x13500 and available as a GeoTIFF or a JPEG.

A1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D1 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
sample tile image
A2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
B2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
C2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)
sample tile image
D2 (GeoTiff | JPEG)