Recommended sources

The first World Atlas of the artificial night sky brightness
P. Cinzano, P F. Falchi and C. D. Elvidge
Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universita` di Padova, vicolo dell�Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova, Italy
2Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologia dell�Inquinamento Luminoso (ISTIL), Thiene, Italy
Office of the Director, NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
More information...>

Lighting Up the Ecosphere
NASA SCIENCE
Using satellite images of city lights at night, NASA scientists are mapping the spread of urban areas around the globe and monitoring their impact on our planet's ecosystem.
More information...>

The night sky in the World
Satellite monitoring of the artificial night sky brightness and the stellar visibility
Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute
More information...>

European Light Pollution Overlay
Light pollution overlay for all of Europe. This shows the level of artificial night sky brightness as measured by the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute.
       View in Google Earth...>
    View in Google Maps...>

Artificial Night Sky Brightness
From many places on the Earth including major cities, the night sky has been reduced from a fascinating display of hundreds of stars to a diffuse glow through which only a handful of stars are visible. Image 2001.
More information...>

Satellite image of Europe at night

click to enlarge

Earth Lights on Google Maps

More information...>