Are the images of city lighting portrayed on these shots from the GOES-East CONUS satellite based on real-time imagery?
This time-series was taken as the line of nightfall swept from east to west across the screen.
Note how the cities around the southern tip of Lake Michigan in particular appear to be initially covered by clouds, then come into view as lighted areas in the darkness, then disappear again -- yet it seems unlikely that the cloud cover has actually ever vanished during this interval.
I've also often noticed that cities in my immediate vicinity show up as lighted areas on the GOES-east CONUS satellite shots slightly before a significant portion of the streetlights etc have actually turned on.