The Night Earth map is a fascinating tool that allows us to explore and understand the impact of light pollution on our planet. By providing a visual representation of the Earth's surface at night, the map reveals the areas that are brightly lit and urbanized, as well as those that remain unlit and remote. It showcases the stark contrasts in urbanization and population density around the world, demonstrating how cities tend to concentrate along coastlines and transportation networks.

One of the map's notable features is its ability to highlight the differences between brightness and population density. While certain regions may appear to be the brightest, they may not necessarily be the most heavily populated. The map visually portrays this phenomenon, offering insights into the patterns of human settlement and development.

Moreover, the Night Earth map uncovers the vast expanses of our planet that remain thinly populated and unlit. Antarctica emerges as a completely dark expanse, reminding us of its isolation and otherworldly beauty. Similarly, the interior jungles of Africa and South America, deserts in various parts of the world, and the remote boreal forests of Canada and Russia all exhibit limited illumination, reflecting the challenges faced by people in these regions when it comes to accessing electricity and infrastructure.

In addition to its informational value, the Night Earth map is aesthetically pleasing, allowing us to appreciate the planet's beauty from a unique perspective. It presents a captivating view of Earth's light pollution and serves as a reminder of the complex relationship between human activity, population distribution, and the natural environment.

Two versions of the images are available:

While the original image consisted of 87.970 images, the map from 2012 comprises 349.525 images, therefore adding a grand total of 437.495 images for this map.

Roadmap and day satellite images, obtained from different sources, are also available for reference.

The detailed images of the cities were taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. These have been obtained from the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth".

Further information can be obtained from the Earth Observatory article Bright Lights, Big City, and NASA's Visible Earth website.

The 3D map was created using Cesium via OpenLayers and ol-cesium, with extensions from ol-ext. This uses imagery from OpenStreetMap, Thunderforest, Bing Maps, and Mapquest. Geocoding is supported by Nominatim via ol3-geocoder. The GDAL - Geospatial Data Abstraction Library library was used for the conversion of the projection of map images. The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis (Northern Lights and Southern Lights) data is sourced from NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The clouds layer is obtained from OpenWeatherMap. Hosting is provided by x10Hosting.