 The nighttime light data collected by the VIRIS sensor aboard the NOAA slash NPO satellite provides a more accurate representation of the Earth's surface than previous methods. It has been shown to correlate well with economic activity, allowing researchers to use it to accurately measure gross domestic product, GDP, and electric power consumption, EPC, at different levels of geography. This article was authored by Kai Feng Shui, Bai Lang Yu, I Xiu Huang, and others.