The Eagle Ford Shale is one of several gas and oil plays in North America that has taken on new life due to horizontal drilling technology and fracking.
Cities and people are scarce in northwestern North Dakota, but nighttime satellite imagery shows the Bakken Formation aglow with brightly-lit drilling equipment.
The harsh climate of the northern Caspian Sea—and gas rich in corrosive hydrogen sulfide—has complicated efforts to tap one of the largest gas and oil reserves discovered in decades.
This animated globe shows the city lights of the world as they appeared to the new Suomi NPP satellite, which has at least 10 times better light-resolving power than previous night-viewing satellites.
This image of nighttime lights in the southwestern outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, was one of several images that an international team of scientists analyzed in 2007.