Watch: Holiday Lights Shine From Space in NASA Video

Ever wonder just how far away those bright outdoor holiday displays can be seen on a clear night?

NASA has answered the question once and for all.

“Our holiday lights are so bright we can see them from space,” the agency explained on its YouTube page. “Thanks to the VIRUS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite, scientists are presenting a new way of studying satellite data that can illustrate patterns in holiday lights, both during Christmas and the Holy Month of Ramadan.”

NASA scientists have found that many major American cities have nighttime lights that shine 20 to 50 percent brighter during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays when compared with the rest of the year, the agency’s website said.

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The study of holiday lights drew on an advanced algorithm developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Data, NASA pointed out on YouTube, is mainly for cities that are snow-free since a fresh blanket of the white stuff tends to reflect a lot of light. That means west coast cities, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, and those in the south, including towns in Florida, figured prominently in results.

Researchers found that America’s lights start getting a whole lot brighter on Black Friday and continue to shine through New Year’s Day.

To check out what the lights look like from space and to learn more about the study, watch the video NASA released this week via YouTube.

Image courtesy of NASA