Diwali is one of the biggest festival celebrated in India. During Deepawali, Hindus around the world lights lamps, candles and fire crackers. We can say it’s not only a festival of light, but it’s a festival of crackers too!
On 12th of November 2012, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (also known as VIIRS) mounted on Suomi NPP (National Polar Orbiting Partnership) satellite captured following image of India / Southeast Asia at Night Time:
In above image, the bright areas are actually the cities and towns in India. You can also see Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan near the edges of above image.
From past few years following image has been constantly circulating on the internet:
The above satellite image claims to be taken on Diwali Day, but it is actually a composite of satellite photos of India created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2003!
The above image was meant to show population growth in India over time, but it got huge popularity on the internet as Diwali Day Satellite Image of India! In this image white lights depicts where population was centered in India before 1992, while different colors depicts the movement of people!
You can download high-resolution of original satellite image of India a night before Diwali Day 2012 using THIS LINK
Credit for original satellite image of India a night before Diwali Day 2012 goes to NASA