Fabian Bimmer/Reuters
- A new e-book from NASA compiles 25 years of satellite images taken a night.
- Some of those images show that US cities emit more light around Christmas and New Year's.
- NASA researchers also found that Middle Eastern cities are illuminated during Ramadan.
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Leave it to NASA to find a way to measure holiday spirit from space.
In a new 200-page e-book, "Earth at Night," the agency has compiled 25 years of satellite images taken when the planet was enveloped in darkness.
At night, small pockets of light from human activity are visible on Earth's surface. During the holidays, those lights get noticeably bigger and brighter.
After analyzing the world's nighttime light patterns between 2012 and 2014, NASA researchers found, unsurprisingly, that the US emits more intense light around the time of Christmas and New Year's. They also found more bursts of light during Ramadan in the Middle East.
Take a look at the cities with the brightest lights.