Dubai night lights transform from orange glow to colourful LEDs in NASA space photos

Dubai’s transformation over more than two decades is visible in a series of night-time photographs captured from space by NASA astronaut Don Pettit.

In a post on X, Pettit shared images of Dubai taken in 2003, 2012 and 2025, highlighting changes in the city’s lighting and urban landscape.

Over the 22-year period, Dubai’s night-time lighting changed from sodium and mercury vapour lamps to multi-coloured LED lights, reflecting the city’s growth and development, he said.

Pettit also pointed to the Palm Islands, whose construction was in its early stages in 2003 but which have since become a distinct landmark visible from orbit.

“From orbit we observe changes like this worldwide!” Pettit wrote.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are able to photograph cities, countries and continents from an orbital perspective, capturing changes in landscapes and infrastructure that are difficult to observe from the ground.

The photographs offer a view of Dubai’s development over more than two decades, showing how the city’s illuminated landscape has evolved.