Black marble
The Americas light up in this composite image made by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. NASA reports the image was made over nine days in April and 13 days in October. According to NASA, 312 orbits were required to get a clear shot of each parcel of the Earth’s surface. Additionally, the image shows Superstorm Sandy making landfall over New Jersey on Oct. 29.
(via The Week in Pictures: Nov. 29 - Dec. 6- slideshow - slide - 1 - NBCNews.com)