NASA has released a global map of the Earth at night for the first time since 2012, using the powerful Suomi NPP satellite and complex computer algorithms to give us our best look yet at our planet in darkness.
2012年，美國國家航空航天局第一次發(fā)布了夜間的全球地圖，通過強大的芬蘭國家極地軌道衛(wèi)星和復雜的計算機算法為我們提供了黑暗中的地球的最佳面貌。

The newly improved, high-resolution graphics can help scientists plot population patterns, energy demand, the expansion of cities, and even shipping lanes.
新改良的高分辨率制圖法可以幫助科學家規(guī)劃人口格局、能源需求、城市拓展，甚至是船運航線。

What's more, NASA scientists plan to release daily snapshots of the world at night later this year, and that means researchers would be able to use the data to aid disaster recovery operations and monitor energy use on a day-to-day basis.
而且，美國航空航天局的科學家計劃在今年晚些時候公布每天夜間的全球快照，這意味著研究人員將能利用這些數(shù)據(jù)來援助災難恢復工作并檢測每天的能源使用情況。

At the heart of the Suomi NPP satellite is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite or VIIRS, which can capture night-time shots at an unprecedented resolution, and is able to detect photons of light in 22 different wavelengths.
芬蘭國家極地軌道衛(wèi)星的核心就是可見的紅外成像輻射儀（VIIRS），該設備能用史無前例的分辨率拍攝夜間快照，并且可以探測22種不同波長的光子。

On the Europe image, you can see the snow-capped mountains of Norway.
在歐洲地圖上，你可以看到覆蓋著皚皚白雪的挪威山脈。

With more tweaking, VIIRS will soon be able to identify individual boats and street lamps.
做一些調(diào)整，這臺紅外成像輻射儀就能很快地識別個人船只和路燈。

You can see the US urban sprawl, though mining operations still shine bright in rural areas.
雖然農(nóng)村地區(qū)的采礦工作依然十分明顯，但你還是可以看到美國的城市擴展區(qū)。

Here, urban settlements follow the Nile in Egypt.
這張圖中，城市住宅是沿著埃及尼羅河進行安置的。

And the best part is, scientists can get their hands on the data within minutes, thanks to the partnership between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on this project.
最好的一點就是，因為美國國家航空航天局與國家海洋大氣管理局在這個項目上達成合作協(xié)議，科學家們在幾分鐘之內(nèi)就可以獲取這些數(shù)據(jù)。

NASA has even released whole hemisphere photos too, like this one of Asia and Australia. Oh, Earth, you're looking good.
美國航空航天局甚至還公布了整個半球的照片，像亞洲和澳洲的這張照片。哎呀，地球，你看上去真不錯。

Once the daily updates are ready to go, NASA hopes they can be used for tracking sea ice, monitoring unregulated fishing, assessing the impact of war on power grids, reducing light pollution, and more.
一旦準備好進行每日更新，美國航空航天局希望這些數(shù)據(jù)可以用來追蹤海上浮冰，監(jiān)督無管制捕撈，評估戰(zhàn)爭對電力輸送網(wǎng)的影響，減少光污染，并發(fā)揮更多其他作用。

With such a high-resolution image available, the data will even be useful for urban planning and local government use – in times of a power outage, perhaps.
因為可以獲得這么高分辨率的圖像，這些數(shù)據(jù)甚至還可以用來進行城市規(guī)劃；也許在停電的時候，還可以為當?shù)卣谩?/div>

（翻譯：Dlacus）

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