City lights shine brighter during the holidays in the U.S. when compared with the rest of the year, as shown using a new analysis of daily data from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. Dark green pixels are areas where lights are 50 percent brighter, or more, during December.NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen
The holiday lights on your roof are so bright they’re visible from space.
NASA said Tuesday that data from a polar-orbiting satellite, in partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, shows how cities’ nighttime lights change during the holiday season. From Black Friday until New Year’s, city lights are about 20 to 50% brighter than other times of the year.
“It’s a near ubiquitous signal. Despite being ethnically and religiously diverse, we found that the U.S. experiences a holiday increase that is present across most urban communities,” said Miguel Román, a research physical scientists at NASA Goddard who co-led the research. “These lighting patterns are tracking a national shared tradition.”
PHOTOS: 20 Breathtaking Images of Earth From Space
Aleppo, Syria, May 26, 2013 – The Citadel of Aleppo – medieval fortified palaceDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesBelfast, Northern Ireland, Nov. 3, 2013 – “Wish,” a large-scale art workDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesUtah, USA, April 22, 2013 – Colorado RiverDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesCuanza River, Angola, April 28, 2013 – Cambambe DamDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesDoha, Qatar, March 4, 2013 – Artificial island spanning nearly four million sq meters.DigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesDunalley, Australia, Jan. 6, 2013 – fires, false color image (red = healthy vegetation)DigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesAustralia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier ReefDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesGwadar coast, Pakistan Sept. 29, 2013 – new island created by earthquake in PakistanDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesCroatia, Feb. 16, 2013 – Galešnjak (Island of Love)DigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesHong Kong, China May 9, 2013 – giant rubber duckDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesMadang Province, Papua New Guinea, March 22, 2013 – Manam VolcanoDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesNamib Desert, Namibia, May 13, 2013 – Sossusvlie areaDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesNaples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount VesuviusDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesNiger, Feb. 13, 2013 – Arlit Uranium MineDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesSchooner Cays, Bahamas, May 26, 2013DigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesSochi, Russia, March 17, 2013 – Site of 2014 winter OlympicsDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesNear the city of Sur, Oman, Feb. 13, 2013 – massive “green tide”DigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesValencia, Spain, July 19, 2013 – Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park with an enormous fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver trappedDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesVersailles, France, Aug. 20, 2013 – Palace of VersaillesDigitalGlobe—Getty ImagesXi'an, China, Sept. 24, 2013 – Shiyuan Park DigitalGlobe—Getty Images
Researchers also took a look at holiday lights during the holy month of Ramadan in the Middle East, where nighttime lights shine up to 50% brighter. Scientists discovered some cities were lit more heavily throughout the region, which they attributed to political or cultural differences.
“Even within majority Muslim populations, there are a lot of variations,” said Eleanor Stokes, a graduate fellow at NASA. “What we’ve seen is that these lighting patterns track cultural variation within the Middle East.”
