Twinkling city lights, raging wildfires and colourful auroras are lit up in new dazzling night-time views of the earth.

The new images are courtesy of a newly launched Nasa-Noaa satellite equipped with a sensor to observe the planet at night.

The Nile River is bathed in city lights; a map of the US shows the populated East Coast illuminated; and light from fishing boats can be pinpointed. The satellite also captured the glow from natural sources, including moonlight, Northern lights and naturally occurring fires.

After Superstorm Sandy made landfall in late October, hard-hit New Jersey, lower Manhattan and the Rockaways appeared dark in the satellite images compared with surrounding areas – the result of widespread power cuts.