Google Maps and NASA invite you to peer into the Black Marble
 

If you've had your fill of that Black Marble animation from last week, how's about a more interactive jaunt around the globe? Google has now joined hands with NASA and NOAA to use stunning imagery of an illuminated, cloud-free Earth captured by the Suomi NPP satellite and put a map of the sleeping world right under your fingertips. The data was collected over 312 passes by the satellite using a new ultra high-sensitivity sensor dubbed the "day-night band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite", and then mapped over existing "Blue Marble" pictures. If you think a nocturnal orbit around our home planet beats having a gander at faraway nebulas, but you can't quite afford a boarding pass, then a jump to the source link is most definitely in order.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/11/b...th-after-dark/