'Black marble' views of Earth at night

This image of Mount Tongariro as it appeared at 12:55 a.m. New Zealand time on August 7, 2012 (12:55 p.m. Universal Time on August 6). The image was acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP, which includes a “day-night band” that can detect volcanic ash plumes lit by moonlight alone. (VIIRS also can detect the visible light emitted by pyroclastic flows and fires, though they are not visible in this particular... more 

This image of Mount Tongariro as it appeared at 12:55 a.m. New Zealand time on August 7, 2012 (12:55 p.m. Universal Time on August 6). The image was acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP, which includes a “day-night band” that can detect volcanic ash plumes lit by moonlight alone. (VIIRS also can detect the visible light emitted by pyroclastic flows and fires, though they are not visible in this particular image.) (NASA) less