Berlin, capital of Germany, at night as seen from the International Space Station 10 years apart.
The images were taken 400 km above Earth by André Kuipers in 2012 (left) and by Samantha Cristoforetti in 2022 (right).
Both astronauts used the same lenses (180 mm) but not the same angle or camera. These images have been colour-calibrated.
Colour pictures taken from the International Space Station are the best source for scientists to map artificial light at night.
Over the last two decades astronauts are witnessing from space how cities shine whiter at night as new street lighting technologies were introduced.
Germany’s glow is whitening, and the country has a lot of fluorescent and mercury vapour lights still in use.
Researchers highlight how invasive night lights are and their negative effects for the environment in the paper Environmental risks from artificial nighttime lighting widespread and increasing across Europe.