VJ202DNB_NRT: VIIRS Day/Night Band Near-Real-Time Satellite Radiance

Near Real Time (NRT) data from the VIIRS Day-Night Band (DNB) provides calibrated radiance measurements at a panchromatic spectral wavelength from 0.5 µm to 0.9 µm. The sensor captures a 3060 km orbital swath with a nominal 750-meter spatial resolution, designed for a large dynamic range from quarter-moon illumination to full daylight. This product facilitates the measurement of night lights and reflected solar or lunar radiation, though data quality is affected by stray-light, lunar illuminance, twilight, and clouds.

Use Cases

• Monitoring urban development and light pollution based on calibrated night-time radiance.
• Detecting and tracking natural disasters or conflict zones via changes in nocturnal illumination.
• Studying atmospheric effects and cloud properties using reflected lunar light measurements.
• Calibrating and validating models for low-light remote sensing across a large dynamic range.

Strengths

• Provides near-real-time data delivery, with a last updated date of 2026-04-09 noted on two platforms.
• Offers a large dynamic range capable of measuring from low quarter-moon illumination to bright daylight.
• Maintains a consistent 750-meter spatial resolution across a wide 3060 km orbital swath.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific columns are consistently listed as unknown or null across all sources.
• Data quality is explicitly noted to be affected by stray-light, lunar illuminance, twilight, clouds, and noisy scan-edges.
• One platform lists the license as 'other-license-specified', while another lists it as 'None', creating ambiguity.

Provenance

Source

NASA VIIRS instrument on the JPSS2 satellite, processed by LANCEMODIS.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing with on-board aggregation for the Day-Night Band.

Time Range

Near Real Time (NRT); specific start date not provided.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:02:32.685342

Geography

Global coverage via 3060 km orbital swaths.