NASA Black Marble VNP46 Nighttime Lights Product User Guide

About this manual

This document serves as the user guide for NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite (VNP46/VJ146), which utilizes the Day/Night Band (DNB) sensor on the Suomi-NPP and JPSS satellites. The guide details the theoretical basis for the algorithms used to generate high-quality, cloud-free imagery corrected for atmospheric, terrain, lunar, and stray light effects. It explains how the suite enables quantitative detection of daily, seasonal, and annual variations in anthropogenic light emissions.

What's inside

• Introduction
• Algorithm Overview
• Atmospheric Correction
• BRDF Correction
• Seasonal Vegetation Correction
• Monthly and Yearly Nighttime Light Composite
• Data Product Formats
• Evaluation and Validation
• Data Archives
• Data Usage and Citation Policies

Specifications

Frequently asked questions

What sensors are used for the Black Marble product?

The product uses the Day/Night Band (DNB) sensor of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

What are the main components of the VNP46 product suite?

The suite includes daily at-sensor TOA, daily moonlight-adjusted, monthly moonlight-adjusted, and yearly moonlight-adjusted nighttime lights products.