Spectacular GIFs of Flickering City Lights at Night

Las Vegas, Nevada

Lightscapes is an experimental work by London-based designer Troy Hyde that takes satellite images of some of the most lively cities in the world and transforms them into flickering animated images. The series takes an extremely zoomed out look at these landscapes at night that are spectacularly lined and illuminated by lights.

Much like someone on earth looking up at the night sky to admire the twinkling stars, this collection reverses the perspective of the viewer as though they are in the sky looking down at the sparkling dance of manmade lights on our planet. Each flicker seems to signify a sense of life and movement.

The artist says, “The impact of human industry is visible; the work captures a contemporary, transient vision of earth which is different from it’s past and will inevitably change. The work engages with the issue of light pollution, but is intended to be observational, encouraging the viewer to experience the beauty of the lightscape simultaneously with the uncomfortable recognition of the uncertainty of the future.”