NASA’s Suomi NPP (which stands for National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project) Earth-observing satellite was launched into orbit in October 2011. As the name suggests, the satellite is tasked with onlooking upon humanity’s home planet. It’s part of a project with which NASA will be collecting data to increase our understanding on long-term climate change and improve weather forecasts.

A key instrument on the satellite it the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS and it’s with that instrument that this amazing 64-megapixel (8,000 x 8,000 resolution) image of the Earth was taken.
continue reading