How is that possible? This composite image of the Nile River and surrounding region at night was taken by the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite in 2016. Thanks. Select Thickness : CLICK HERE TO GET A QUOTE. Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. Artscut Earth Pietra Black Artscut Earth. That is one reason why must people cannot see all but the brightest stars. Black Marble The night side of our planet twinkles with light, and the first thing to stand out is the cities. The Black Marble name is a riff on another famous NASA composite image called the Blue Marble, a detailed view of the Earth that's made up of thousands of images taken over … Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe. This composite shows what the entire planet looks like by night. For example, on April 22, 1970, the first “Earth Day” organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, Harvard graduate student. NASA has released new, high-definition satellite images of Earth's "night lights" for the first time since 2012. We now have definitive proof that the aurora lights are just as beautiful from space. Scientists can use these nighttime views to study how patterns of human settlement have changed over time. Lake Michigan looks exceptionally dark beside the glowing city lights of Chicago, Illinois. This composite image of the U.S. at night was taken by the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite in 2016. The Black Marble. The nighttime look of our planet is dubbed the “Black Marble”. This new global view and animation of Earth’s city lights is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. This composite image of the Earth as a "black marble" shows Asia and Australia in 2016. 50 Amazing Facts about Earth. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. 'The Right Stuff' recap: We are all asleep down here ('Vostok'), A mission to 'Mars' at the HI-SEAS habitat: Live updates, Virgin Galactic planning to launch suborbital test flight this month, Asteroid Apophis is speeding up from sunlight as scientists recalculate odds of 2068 impact, Cosmic bubbles may have forged dark matter, new theory suggests. Millions of people gather in the United States for the event.