I collected all the daily images of the satellite-based Soumi VIIRS sensor and calculated the per-pixel average over the whole year of 2018.
You can explore it in full resolution in an interactive webmap.
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_2000px.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_median.vrt_2000px.jpg)
You can see fascinating patterns, e.g. “downstream” of islands in the ocean or following big rivers like the Amazon. Be wary though as snow and clouds look the same here.
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_median.vrt_2000px_europe-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_atlanticislands-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_canusa-700x466.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_median.vrt_2000px_seasia-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_median.vrt_2000px_russia-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_median.vrt_2000px_india-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_amazon-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_caribbean-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_madagascaretc-700x700.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_.1020_1000px.jpg)
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_4326_median.vrt_.-8015_1000px.jpg)
It’s also fun to look at the maximum to see cloudless regions (this image is highly exaggerated and does not make too much sense anyways):
![](https://hannes.enjoys.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor_max.vrt_2000px.jpg)
Many thanks to Joshua Stevens for motivation and infos on data availability! The initial idea was of course inspired by Charlie ‘vruba’ Lyod‘s Cloudless atlas works. I explored imagery on https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/, grabbed Soumi VIIRS images via https://wiki.earthdata.nasa.gov/display/GIBS/GIBS+API+for+Developers and processed it in GDAL. Poke me repeatedly to blog about the process please. (2022: Or don’t, I didn’t document it back then and can’t remember the final specifics. I think I did use imagemagick’s -evaluate-sequence
median but might have done something in vips2
instead. The 2020 approach via GDAL is much easier.)
Full resolution, georeferenced imagery as Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF:
*I said average but of course it is the median. The average or mean does not make much sense to use nor does it look any good. ;-)
Hey I would love full res image, to be printed on my wall! I have many maps and i love maps. Found you from /r/mapporn ? would you mind..? thanks!
same here!
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i would like the full resolution of the map
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I would love the full res image of the map. Thanks!
It would be great to see also the median day and check differences with the average one.
Great job!
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looks like there’s mould in the Amazon
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Dear Han,
I’m a science researcher based in London. I’d like to use your “average Earth” image as part of a Figure in an academic publication. I will receive no payment myself for this publication. I am happy to buy the full-res image from you on Etsy, but I would need confirmation from you that you consent to your image being reproduced in my academic paper. Please could you email me to discuss?
Many thanks!
Lewis
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