View allAll Photos Tagged blackmarble
My Redux2020 themes are "Glass" and "Bathroom" for some after-Christmas shine and golden tones.
Lots of Redux fun to all participants and HMM. 💙
One day in July last year, I was standing in my kitchen when I noticed the sunlight and shadows reflecting off the black flecked marble benchtop, creating a kind of spotlight. I had only recently purchased the red slippers and they were sitting on my dining table, so I rushed to get them and spent a ten minute window photographing them in the spotlight before the sun changed position and drew the spotlight away.
The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for the 10th of July is “a touch of red”. This requires a colour photograph, not a selective colour image, where the red should be the eye catching component. After using a pair of beautiful 1:12 size miniature red slippers from my miniatures collection for the “Smile on Saturday” theme of “polka dots”, I thought I might use this colour photo from my archive featuring them for this week’s theme. I hope that you like it, and that it makes you smile.
This pair of shoes is a centimetre in height and length.
I wasn't aware of the reflection capabilities of black marble before this shot. Also, all these different light temperatures of artificial light are amazing.
A playful take on the number 21, because what better way to celebrate Flickr’s 21st birthday than with a delicious lineup of treats? Three white chocolate, sixteen milk chocolate, and two dark chocolate pieces create a sweet equation: 3 + 16 + 2 = 21! The smooth chocolate coating, rich tones, and a hint of coffee beans make this a bold, flavorful tribute to Flickr’s creativity and community.
What’s a birthday celebration without something sweet? 🎂 A coffee break with a delicious donut, celebrating Flickr’s 21st anniversary with a 21-day photo challenge! The rich chocolate coating, crunchy toppings, and a bite already taken—because I just couldn’t resist. Paired with coffee beans, this shot captures the simple joys of indulgence.
Every picture tells a story, or seems to.
On the street, Flushing, NYC -- February
These women were part of a group who were to perform a program at the Flushing Community Library on "The Art Of Being A Geisha." They were dressed and, it seems, in character, but the security guard would not let them in the employee entrance, so they were rushing to the main, public entrance.
The 12th century Tournai font in Winchester Cathedral.
The magnificent Tournai black marble font has been used to baptize the cathedral's congregation since about 1150 AD. Its square shape lends its sides to tell the story of St Nicholas. He is easily recognized in his bishop’s mitre and crozier and in a cartoon like way is shown going about his kindly acts.
One part of the carving tells the tale of a poor nobleman who comes kneeling before St Nicholas. He has led a life of shame because he cannot afford to give his three daughters a dowry.
St. Nicholas takes pity on the man giving him a purse of gold coins. The nobleman passes it onto his daughter whilst the young man she hopes to marry stands to the side. It is difficult to imagine the impact of such imagery in a time when there were few images created. The font would have been rather like a picture book for those gazing upon it.
A wonderful boat filled with travellers rears up on the other side, with St Nicholas saving lives at sea. The depiction of the boat is thought to be the earliest showing a boat with high prow and fixed stern rudder.
Contrary to its description as a black marble, Tournai stone is in fact a fine grained Lower Carboniferous, dark limestone which takes a polish. It has the appearance of marble when polished and hence its name.
123 pictures in 2023 (88) sacred
This is one of two entrances to the newly refurbished Richmond Station in west London – and just look at the 1930s ‘RICHMOND’ sign in heritage Southern Railway green. Note, too, the wonderful Art Deco clock, and the ‘Parcels and Cloaks’ sign through the doorway.
It’s all part of the restoration of Richmond Station’s historic Art Deco features carried out by Network Rail, South Western Railway, the Railway Heritage Trust and the London Borough of Richmond Council.
Well, it’s been worth the wait and the result is terrific – the outside entrance canopy has been refurbished, heritage railway colours restored, bronze doors given a makeover, rooflights cleaned and polished, and overpainted stonework cleaned and restored.
Some 9 million passengers use Richmond Station every year. I’m one of them, and I love the ‘new’ restored 1930s look. Outstanding work by everyone involved!
A imponente fachada gótica da Catedral de São Lourenço, construída no início do século XIII, destaca-se pelo uso alternado de mármore branco e negro, característico da arquitetura genovesa. Esta catedral, consagrada em 1118, combina estilos românico e gótico, refletindo as várias fases da sua construção.
Os três portais ricamente decorados e a grande rosácea central são elementos de destaque, captando a atenção dos visitantes que passam pela Piazza San Lorenzo, no coração de Génova.
For the July cycle of We <3 RP (attention: During Independence Day celebrations the July cycle will open door to public on July 5th), 22769 has created the Sphinx Statue in three different styles.
22769 - Sphinx Statue Details:
available colors: White and Black Marble and Copper
LI 9
1,3 x 2,9 x 4,1 meters
decoration only item
original creator mesh
original creator texture
materials enabled
next owner permissions: copy, mod, no-trans
You find a Demo available at the 22769 Storelocation (maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wooden%20Bay/36/124/23) and displayed at the venue.
The SLurl to We <3 RP July 2017 is provided below, put please keep in mind that the venue isn't yet open to public.
NASA image acquired April 18 - October 23, 2012
This image of North and South America at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. The new data was mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet.
The nighttime view was made possible by the new satellite’s “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. In this case, auroras, fires, and other stray light have been removed to emphasize the city lights.
“Artificial lighting is a excellent remote sensing observable and proxy for human activity,” says Chris Elvidge, who leads the Earth Observation Group at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center. Social scientists and demographers have used night lights to model the spatial distribution of economic activity, of constructed surfaces, and of populations. Planners and environmental groups have used maps of lights to select sites for astronomical observatories and to monitor human development around parks and wildlife refuges. Electric power companies, emergency managers, and news media turn to night lights to observe blackouts.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth's surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface, sending its data once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users distributed around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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The night side of Earth twinkles with light, and the first thing to stand out is the cities. “Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights,” asserts Chris Elvidge, a NOAA scientist who has studied them for 20 years.
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. The data was acquired over nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012. It took satellite 312 orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth’s land surface and islands. This new data was then mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet.
The nighttime view in visible light was made possible by the new “day-night band” of Suomi NPP’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. This low-light sensor can distinguish night lights with ten to hundreds of times better light detection capability than scientists had before.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth&rsquos surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface as it circles the planet 14 times a day. Data is sent once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image and animation by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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NASA image acquired April 18 - October 23, 2012
This new image of the Earth at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite over nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth’s land surface and islands.
The nighttime view of Earth in visible light was made possible by the “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight. In this case, auroras, fires, and other stray light have been removed to emphasize the city lights.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth’s surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The spacecraft flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface in a polar orbit, circling the planet about 14 times a day. Suomi NPP sends its data once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users distributed around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Find us on Instagram
NASA image acquired April 18 - October 23, 2012
This image of the United States of America at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. The image was made possible by the new satellite’s “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight.
“Nighttime light is the most interesting data that I’ve had a chance to work with,” says Chris Elvidge, who leads the Earth Observation Group at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center. “I’m always amazed at what city light images show us about human activity.” His research group has been approached by scientists seeking to model the distribution of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and to monitor the activity of commercial fishing fleets. Biologists have examined how urban growth has fragmented animal habitat. Elvidge even learned once of a study of dictatorships in various parts of the world and how nighttime lights had a tendency to expand in the dictator’s hometown or province.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth's surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface, sending its data once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users distributed around the world. Suomi NPP is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
NASA image acquired April 18 - October 23, 2012
This image of Asia and Australia at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. The new data was mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet.
The nighttime view was made possible by the new satellite’s “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. In this case, auroras, fires, and other stray light have been removed to emphasize the city lights.
“Night time imagery provides an intuitively graspable view of our planet,” says William Stefanov, a scientist in NASA’s International Space Station program office who has worked with similar images from astronauts. “City lights are an excellent means to track urban and suburban growth, which feeds into planning for energy use and urban hazards, for studying urban heat islands, and for initializing climate models.”
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth's surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface, sending its data once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users distributed around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Unprecedented New Look at Our Planet at Night
In daylight our big blue marble is all land, oceans and clouds. But the night - is electric.
This view of Earth at night is a cloud-free view from space as acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (Suomi NPP). A joint program by NASA and NOAA, Suomi NPP captured this nighttime image by the satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band on VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, gas flares, and wildfires. This new image is a composite of data acquired over nine days in April and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 satellite orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of land surface.
This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation.
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more download or read more about this video
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Unprecedented New Look at Our Planet at Night
In daylight our big blue marble is all land, oceans and clouds. But the night - is electric.
This view of Earth at night is a cloud-free view from space as acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (Suomi NPP). A joint program by NASA and NOAA, Suomi NPP captured this nighttime image by the satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band on VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, gas flares, and wildfires. This new image is a composite of data acquired over nine days in April and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 satellite orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of land surface.
This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation.
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more download or read more about this video
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Unprecedented New Look at Our Planet at Night
In daylight our big blue marble is all land, oceans and clouds. But the night - is electric.
This view of Earth at night is a cloud-free view from space as acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (Suomi NPP). A joint program by NASA and NOAA, Suomi NPP captured this nighttime image by the satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band on VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, gas flares, and wildfires. This new image is a composite of data acquired over nine days in April and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 satellite orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of land surface.
This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation.
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more download or read more about this video
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Unprecedented New Look at Our Planet at Night
In daylight our big blue marble is all land, oceans and clouds. But the night - is electric.
This view of Earth at night is a cloud-free view from space as acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (Suomi NPP). A joint program by NASA and NOAA, Suomi NPP captured this nighttime image by the satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band on VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, gas flares, and wildfires. This new image is a composite of data acquired over nine days in April and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 satellite orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of land surface.
This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation.
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more download or read more about this video
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
The night side of Earth twinkles with light, and the first thing to stand out is the cities. “Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights,” asserts Chris Elvidge, a NOAA scientist who has studied them for 20 years.
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. The data was acquired over nine days in April 2012 and thirteen days in October 2012. It took satellite 312 orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth’s land surface and islands. This new data was then mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet.
The nighttime view in visible light was made possible by the new “day-night band” of Suomi NPP’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. This low-light sensor can distinguish night lights with ten to hundreds of times better light detection capability than scientists had before.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth&rsquos surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface as it circles the planet 14 times a day. Data is sent once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users around the world. The mission is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image and animation by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center). Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Unprecedented New Look at Our Planet at Night
In daylight our big blue marble is all land, oceans and clouds. But the night - is electric.
This view of Earth at night is a cloud-free view from space as acquired by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite (Suomi NPP). A joint program by NASA and NOAA, Suomi NPP captured this nighttime image by the satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). The day-night band on VIIRS detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, gas flares, and wildfires. This new image is a composite of data acquired over nine days in April and thirteen days in October 2012. It took 312 satellite orbits and 2.5 terabytes of data to get a clear shot of every parcel of land surface.
This video uses the Earth at night view created by NASA's Earth Observatory with data processed by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and combined with a version of the Earth Observatory's Blue Marble: Next Generation.
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more download or read more about this video
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
NASA image acquired September 24, 2012
City lights at night are a fairly reliable indicator of where people live. But this isn’t always the case, and the Korean Peninsula shows why. As of July 2012, South Korea’s population was estimated at roughly 49 million people, and North Korea’s population was estimated at about half that number. But where South Korea is gleaming with city lights, North Korea has hardly any lights at all—just a faint glimmer around Pyongyang.
On September 24, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of the Korean Peninsula. This imagery is from the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight.
The wide-area image shows the Korean Peninsula, parts of China and Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan. The white inset box encloses an area showing ship lights in the Yellow Sea. Many of the ships form a line, as if assembling along a watery border.
Following the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War, per-capita income in South Korea rose to about 17 times the per-capital income level of North Korea, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Worldwide, South Korea ranks 12th in electricity production, and 10th in electricity consumption, per 2011 estimates. North Korea ranks 71st in electricity production, and 73rd in electricity consumption, per 2009 estimates.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Michon Scott.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram
Comedy & Tragedy
The William Shakespeare Memorial
sculptor: Alexander Stirling Calder
bronze, on black marble base (cast 1926)
architects: Gilbert McIlvaine, Paul Cret, and Jacques Gréber
dedicated: 1929, on Shakespeare’s birthday
founded by: John Sartain
relocated: 1953, originally located at the Free Library
The doomed, figure of Hamlet (right - Tragedy), is depicted in a brooding manner as he leans his head upon his hand which bears a knife.
At his feet sits Touchstone, zany jester (Left - Comedy), with his head rolled back in laughter.
Inscription: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS
Middle City West - Logan Square
Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 19th and 20th Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lanarch Castle.
William Lanarch was a merchant, shipper, pastoralist, farmer and politician for over 25 years including the holding of Cabinet posts and he was land speculator. He succeeded at all but did not find happiness or ultimate success. He married three times with his first two wives dying. When one of his six children, a daughter died early, he was devastated. He was born of Scottish parents in NSW in 1833 and made his first fortune as a banker on the Victorian goldfields. In 1867 he moved to Dunedin to be a banker of the Otago goldfields. He stayed on as a Dunedin merchant and commissioned the prominent Dunedin architect Robert Lawson to build a mansion on the Peninsula. The house was built between 1871 and 1887 but occupied around 1872. It eventually contained 43 rooms including a lavish ballroom added in 1887 for favourite daughter Kate. Lanarch employed 46 servants in the house and the interior had floor tiles from England, slate from Wales, marble from Italy, glass from France and Venice and NZ kauri ceilings, NZ rimu floors and ZN honeysuckle panelling. The interior feature many panels of painted and stained glass. After Kate Lanarch died in 1892 her father suffered financial difficulties and he eventually committed suicide in the NZ parliament building in 1898. As he died intestate it took some years of family arguing before his estate was settled and Lanarch Castle was only sold in 1906. After a series of owners it fell into disrepair until it was purchased by Barry and Margaret Barker in 1967. They set about restoring the only castle in NZ. Since then they have added function facilities and accommodation to make the castle pay its way. The Barkers are still the current owners. Some believe that Kate Lanarch’s ghost appears in the castle from time to time. Another nearby historical house and garden is the Glenfalloch estate which was also established in 1871. The garden is known for its rhododendrons, magnolias, fuchsias, garden flowers, native ferns and NZ trees. In Scottish Gaelic Glenfalloch means “hidden valley” which aptly describes the location on the Otago peninsula.
Comedy & Tragedy
The William Shakespeare Memorial
sculptor: Alexander Stirling Calder
bronze, on black marble base (cast 1926)
architects: Gilbert McIlvaine, Paul Cret, and Jacques Gréber
dedicated: 1929, on Shakespeare’s birthday
founded by: John Sartain
relocated: 1953, originally located at the Free Library
The doomed, figure of Hamlet (right - Tragedy), is depicted in a brooding manner as he leans his head upon his hand which bears a knife.
At his feet sits Touchstone, zany jester (Left - Comedy), with his head rolled back in laughter.
Inscription: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS
Middle City West - Logan Square
Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 19th and 20th Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This beautiful black marble sculpture looked like a mother and child hiding in the flowerbed from this angle.
Northwestern North Dakota is one of the least-densely populated parts of the United States. Cities and people are scarce, but satellite imagery shows the area has been aglow at night in recent years. The reason: the area is home to the Bakken shale formation, a site where oil production is booming.
Companies hoping to extract oil from the Bakken formation have drilled hundreds of new wells in the last few years; natural gas often bubbles up to the surface as part of the process. Lacking the infrastructure to pipe the gas away, many drillers simply burn it in a practice known as flaring.
On November 12, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of widespread gas flaring throughout the area. Many of the specks of light are evidence of gas flaring, though others may be the lights around drilling equipment. Some of the brighter areas correspond to towns and cities including Williston, Minot, and Dickinson.
The image was captured by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight. When VIIRS acquired the image, the moon was in its waning crescent phase, meaning it was reflecting only a small amount of light.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas production from the Bakken shale has increased more than 20-fold between 2007 and 2010. Gas production averaged over 485 million cubic feet per day in September 2011, compared to the 2005 average of about 160 million cubic feet per day. Due to the lack of gas pipeline and processing facilities in the region, about 29 percent of that gas is flared.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Adam Voiland.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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On August 29, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of wildfires burning in Idaho and Montana.
The image was captured by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight. When the image was acquired, the moon was in its waxing gibbous phase, meaning it was more than half-lit, but less than full.
Numerous hot spots from the Mustang Complex Fire are visible in northern Idaho. A plume of thick, billowing smoke streams west from the brightest fires near the Idaho-Montana border. The Halstead and Trinity Ridge fires are visible to the south. In addition to the fires, city lights from Boise and other smaller cities appear throughout the image. A bank of clouds is located west of the Mustang Complex, over southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.
The Operational Line System (OLS)—an earlier generation of night-viewing sensors on the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites—was also capable of detecting fires at night. But the VIIRS “day-night band” is far better than OLS at resolving them. Each pixel of an VIIRS image shows roughly 740 meters (0.46 miles), compared to the 3-kilometer footprint (1.86 miles) on the OLS system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Adam Voiland.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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This image of part of the Atlantic coast of South America was acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite on the night of July 20, 2012. The image was made possible by the “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe dim signals such as city lights, gas flares, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight.
“Nothing tells us more about the spread of humans across the Earth than city lights,” says Chris Elvidge, who leads the Earth Observation Group at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center.
Named for satellite meteorology pioneer Verner Suomi, NPP flies over any given point on Earth's surface twice each day at roughly 1:30 a.m. and p.m. The polar-orbiting satellite flies 824 kilometers (512 miles) above the surface, sending its data once per orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and continuously to local direct broadcast users distributed around the world. Suomi NPP is managed by NASA with operational support from NOAA and its Joint Polar Satellite System, which manages the satellite's ground system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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On August 29, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of wildfires burning in Idaho and Montana.
The image was captured by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight. When the image was acquired, the moon was in its waxing gibbous phase, meaning it was more than half-lit, but less than full.
Numerous hot spots from the Mustang Complex Fire are visible in northern Idaho. A plume of thick, billowing smoke streams west from the brightest fires near the Idaho-Montana border. The Halstead and Trinity Ridge fires are visible to the south. In addition to the fires, city lights from Boise and other smaller cities appear throughout the image. A bank of clouds is located west of the Mustang Complex, over southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.
The Operational Line System (OLS)—an earlier generation of night-viewing sensors on the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites—was also capable of detecting fires at night. But the VIIRS “day-night band” is far better than OLS at resolving them. Each pixel of an VIIRS image shows roughly 740 meters (0.46 miles), compared to the 3-kilometer footprint (1.86 miles) on the OLS system.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Adam Voiland.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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In April 2012, waves in Earth’s “airglow” spread across the nighttime skies of northern Texas like ripples in a pond. In this case, the waves were provoked by a massive thunderstorm.
Airglow is a layer of nighttime light emissions caused by chemical reactions high in Earth’s atmosphere. A variety of reactions involving oxygen, sodium, ozone and nitrogen result in the production of a very faint amount of light. In fact, it’s approximately one billion times fainter than sunlight (~10-11 to 10-9 W·cm-2· sr-1). This chemiluminescence is similar to the chemical reactions that light up a glow stick or glow-in-the-dark silly putty.
The “day-night band,” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured these glowing ripples in the night sky on April 15, 2012 (top image). The day-night band detects lights over a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses highly sensitive electronics to observe low light signals. (The absolute minimum signals detectable are at the levels of nightglow emission.) The lower image shows the thunderstorm as observed by a thermal infrared band on VIIRS. This thermal band, which is sensitive only to heat emissions (cold clouds appear white), is not sensitive to the subtle visible-light wave structures seen by the day-night band.
Technically speaking, airglow occurs at all times. During the day it is called “dayglow,” at twilight “twilightglow,” and at night “nightglow.” There are slightly different processes taking place in each case, but in the image above the source of light is nightglow.
The strongest nightglow emissions are mostly constrained to a relatively thin layer of atmosphere between 85 and 95 kilometers (53 and 60 miles) above the Earth’s surface. Little emission occurs below this layer since there’s a higher concentration of molecules, allowing for dissipation of chemical energy via collisions rather than light production. Likewise, little emission occurs above that layer because the atmospheric density is so tenuous that there are too few light-emitting reactions to yield an appreciable amount of light.
Suomi NPP is in orbit around Earth at 834 kilometers (about 518 miles), well above the nightglow layer. The day-night band imagery therefore contains signals from the direction upward emission of the nightglow layer and the reflection of the downward nightglow emissions by clouds and the Earth’s surface. The presence of these nightglow waves is a graphic visualization of the usually unseen energy transfer processes that occur continuously between the lower and upper atmosphere.
While nightglow is a well-known phenomenon, it’s not typically considered by Earth-viewing meteorological sensors. In fact, scientists were surprised at Suomi NPP’s ability to detect it. During the satellite’s check-out procedure, this unanticipated source of visible light was thought to indicate a problem with the sensor until scientists realized that what they were seeing was the faintest of light in the darkness of night.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Aries Keck and Steve Miller.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
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Comedy & Tragedy
The William Shakespeare Memorial
sculptor: Alexander Stirling Calder
bronze, on black marble base (cast 1926)
architects: Gilbert McIlvaine, Paul Cret, and Jacques Gréber
dedicated: 1929, on Shakespeare’s birthday
founded by: John Sartain
relocated: 1953, originally located at the Free Library
The doomed, figure of Hamlet (right - Tragedy), is depicted in a brooding manner as he leans his head upon his hand which bears a knife.
At his feet sits Touchstone, zany jester (Left - Comedy), with his head rolled back in laughter.
Inscription: ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN MERELY PLAYERS
Middle City West - Logan Square
Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 19th and 20th Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NASA acquired July 15, 2012
On July 15, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of the aurora australis, or “southern lights,” over Antartica’s Queen Maud Land and the Princess Ragnhild Coast.
The image was captured by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, auroras, wildfires, and reflected moonlight. In the case of the image above, the sensor detected the visible auroral light emissions as energetic particles rained down from Earth’s magnetosphere and into the gases of the upper atmosphere. The slightly jagged appearance of the auroral lines is a function of the rapid dance of the energetic particles at the same time that the satellite is moving and the VIIRS sensor is scanning.
The yellow box in the top image depicts the area shown in the lower close-up image. Light from the aurora was bright enough to illuminate the ice edge between the ice shelf and the Southern Ocean. At the time, Antarctica was locked in midwinter darkness and the Moon was a waning crescent that provided little light.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day-Night Band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Click here to view all of the Earth at Night 2012 images
Click here to read more about this image
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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