Fracking visible from space

North-western North Dakota is home to the Bakken shale formation, where fracking has led to an oil boom. Most of the bright lights are natural gas from wells being burned because the region lacks the infrastructure to pipe all the gas away. Gas production has increased rapidly in recent years but 30% is flared. Image: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon VIIRS/SUOMI

As explained at The Guardian, North Dakota is now visible from space because of the light generated by fracking-related activity.

Addendum:  Further information about the image, from NASA's Earth Observatory site:

Northwestern North Dakota is one of the least-densely populated parts of the United States. Cities and people are scarce, but satellite imagery shows the area has been aglow at night in recent years. The reason: the area is home to the Bakken shale formation, a site where gas and oil production are booming.

On November 12, 2012, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime view of widespread drilling throughout the area. Most of the bright specks are lights associated with drilling equipment and temporary housing near drilling sites, though a few are evidence of gas flaring. Some of the brighter areas correspond to towns and cities including Williston, Minot, and Dickinson.

The image was captured by the VIIRS “day-night band,” which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses “smart” light sensors to observe dim signals such as gas flares, auroras, wildfires, city lights, and reflected moonlight. When VIIRS acquired the image, the Moon was in its waning crescent phase, so the landscape was reflecting only a small amount of light.