Henderson and Weil’s research shows a link between changes in a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the intensity of its electric lighting. On average, as a country's GDP increases, its night-time light emission becomes more intense.
'As the world's population increases, our ability to know what all the human beings are doing on this planet is getting increasingly vague, and a Nightsat mission is one way to get objective global coverage of what's going on. Its data could help quantify energy usage, economic activity, and more.' says Sutton.
Chris Elvidge leads a team that removes contaminating natural phenomena. But he says that human choices of how buildings and streets are lit, and even which variety of light bulbs are used, all alter the patterns and intensity of light, adding uncertainty to any conclusions.
Questions
1. Improved data on night-time light levels could have wide-ranging applications in future.
2. The use of different types of lighting may affect the reliability of satellite data.
3. Levels of man-made night-time illumination reflect national prosperity.