Data Gazing

The first year of stories released on NASA Visualization Explorer. In 2011, we released an app for the iPad called "NASA Visualization Explorer" and began delivering two visualization-based science stories per week to users of the app. This animation shows the cover images of these stories, in the order of their release. For More InformationSee [http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasaviz/index.html](http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasaviz/index.html) Related pages

Two regions of fast, energetic particles surround the planet with plasma and scientific questions. This cutaway view illustrates changes in the belts' shape and intensity that new NASA satellites are expected to observe. Shown without a cutaway, the donut-like shape of the outer belt is apparent. This early schematic of the Van Allen Belts' structure was created after the first NASA satellite discovered their existence in 1958. The twin spacecraft of NASA's upcoming Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission seek to determine what forces make the belts shrink and swell. The two RBSP spacecraft will fly in extreme elliptical orbits, allowing the mission to observe changes in the belts from different perspectives. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/rbsp/news/electric-atmosphere.html) Related pages

What created the unusual spiral arms surrounding this star? The asymmetric nature of the arms in the image of star SAO 206462 could mean that the disk contains at least two planets. This video compares a visualization of a planet-forming star from the NCSA Advanced Visualization Lab to the new image of SAO 206462. Two spiral arms emerge from SAO 206462's circumstellar disk, which stretches 14 billion miles across, about twice the size of Pluto's orbit. The Subaru Telescope (center) on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, was used to spot SAO 206462. For More InformationSee [Science@NASA](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/31oct_spiralarms/) Related pages

Now for the good stuff! See unprecedented views of Venus crossing the sun. Venus appears as a perfect black dot in this collection of SDO images captured at multiple wavelengths. The NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory tracked Venus from May 31 to June 4 as the planet approached the sun. Venus crossed the left limb of the sun, seen here at 304 angstroms, between 6 and 7 p.m. EDT on June 5. Venus prepares to exit over the right side of the sun, shown here at 171 angstroms, following a transit of six and a half hours. Backlit by the sun, seen here at 193 angstroms, Venus completes its last transit until 2117. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/venus_images.html) Related pages

Marine plants multiply and take over the seas. Red, orange, yellow and green represent areas where blooms abound. Blue patches represent nutrient-poor zones where blooms exist in low numbers. The upwelling of nutrient-rich waters off the coast of California provide phytoplankton with essential minerals, allowing massive blooms to form. Similar upwelling events yield dense blooms off North Africa's coast. Rivers, such as the Amazon, deposit nutrients from land into South America's tropical ocean waters, leading to thick blooms along the coastline. Blooms flourish in a dark plume of nutrient-rich water pouring from the mouth of the Amazon River, as seen by NASA's Aqua satellite. Related pages

How massive solar eruptions rock our atmosphere. Magnetic field lines, collectively known as the magnetosphere, surround Earth. An artist's illustration demonstrates the movement of a coronal mass ejection from the sun toward Earth's magnetosphere. Energy funneled along compressed magnetic field lines creates auroras when the energized lines intersect. This aurora, photographed in Finland, was a beautiful side effect of a geomagnetic storm in February 2012. Related pages

The brutal secret of how the moon got the scarred face we know and love. Take a tour of stunning new views of the moon's surface, provided by the Lunar Reconnassaince Orbiter. The young moon had barely formed when the barrage of impacts and eruptions that would forever scar its surface began. Fields of dark rock left by volcanic eruptions, mistaken for huge seas, were named "maria." Some of them make up the Man in the Moon's face. As large moon craters go, the giant bull's-eye called Orientale basin is thought to be young, likely the moon's last major body blow. A lifetime of pummeling by space objects large and small has given the moon its familiar, pockmarked look. The sun beats endlessly on the peaks of the south pole's Shackleton crater, but its cold depths may not have seen light for 2 billion years. Because Tycho crater is young, the 1-mile-tall peaks at its center are still sharp and imposing. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/vid-tour.html) Related pages

Gamma rays radiate from the Milky Way's center, but where do they come from? An artist's impression shows the gamma ray lobes towering above and below the Milky Way's spiral arms. Scientists used Fermi satellite data to identify the existence and shape of these never-before-seen features. The structure's sharp edges suggest it formed in a sudden, impulsive event. From end to end, the lobes stretch 50,000 light years, or about half the diameter of the Milky Way. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/new-structure.html) Related pages

Understanding the material from beyond our solar system tells of our past and evolution. The solar system and the heliosphere move through wispy interstellar clouds made of hydrogen, helium, neon and oxygen. Charged interstellar particles ricochet away, but neutral atoms slip through the bubble of solar wind called the heliosphere. Interstellar material emanates from stellar nurseries such as the Orion nebula, captured here by the Hubble Space Telescope. Atoms from beyond the solar system travel three decades to reach IBEX in its orbit between Earth and the moon. IBEX orbits Earth about three-quarters of the way to the moon to avoid magnetic interference from Earth. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ibex/news/interstellar-difference.html) Related pages

Human influence on global temperature continued in 2011 (seen here). NASA scientists said the year was the ninth warmest on record. Global temperature is one of the basic measuring sticks of climate change. The planet is now warming by about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. The world was a cooler place in 1951, the first year of a 30-year baseline period used in the NASA temperature record. The 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the Phillipines released so much sunlight-reflecting ash that the warming trend briefly slowed in the mid-1990s. But by 1998, the strongest El Nino of the century drove global temperatures to a new record high. The years 2010 and 2005 remain tied for the hottest years, but they are only about 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than 2011, the ninth warmest year. The colors represent how much the first and last years in the NASA record depart from the average temperature between 1951 and 1980. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2011-temps.html) Related pages

A NASA spacecraft discovers antimatter bursts released by thunderstorms. There are some 500 terrestrial gamma-ray flashes daily. The red dots show those Fermi spotted through 2010. Learn how scientists used Fermi's gamma-ray detector to uncover bursts of antimatter from thunderstorms. On Dec. 14, 2009, Fermi detected gamma rays created by an antimatter collision with the satellite. An artist's representation shows how a cloud of electrons and positrons passed over Fermi and caused it to emit gamma rays. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/fermi-thunderstorms.html) Related pages

Witness the extravagant transformation of Dubai's desert landscape between 2000 and 2011. This time-lapse video shows the rate of Dubai's growth at one frame per year from 2000 through 2011. The first signs of construction of Palm Jumeirah appeared in early 2002. By late 2002 the palm tree shape had begun to emerge. The island was completed in 2003. As buildings and roads grew on the new island, the city expanded onshore. Irrigated, plant-covered land (red) covered a greater area in 2006. By 2011, most of the land was developed, covered in city blocks (gray), residential areas (red and gray), and resorts (mostly red). For More InformationSee [NASA Earth Observatory](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/dubai.php?src=vizapp) Related pages

Like clockwork, dark spots the size of Earth speckle our sun. Traveling sunspots are seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite from Oct. 25 to 27, 2010. Sunspots arise from the constantly changing magnetic fields inside the sun. Near solar minimum, the sun's magnetic field lines are straight and simple. Near solar maximum, the sun's magnetic field lines get more complex as the magnetic material inside stretches and twists. Eleven years in the life of the sun, progressing from solar minimum (upper left) to maximum and back to minimum (upper right) again. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/solarcycle-primer.html) Related pages

NASA's two Voyager spacecraft reveal the frothy border of the solar system. Launched in 1977, the two Voyager spacecraft (a conceptual of Voyager II shown here) have almost reached the edge of the solar system. The sun's magnetic field spirals out in waves (seen in purple) that compress at the solar system's edge. Scientists once thought the border of the heliosheath, seen in blue, had a smooth surface. Scientists now know magnetic bubbles pile up at the edge of the solar system, as seen here. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/heliosphere-surprise.html) Related pages

Watch surface currents circulate in this high-resolution, 3D model of the Earth's oceans. Distinctive white lines trace the flow of surface currents around the world. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the eastern coastline of the United States to regions of the North Atlantic Ocean. The Agulhas Current travels along the coastline of Mozambique and South Africa and then loops eastward. The Kuroshio Current flows northeast off the coast of Japan transporting warm ocean water circulating east of Taiwan. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/perpetual-ocean.html) Related pages

A new map changes our understanding of how ice flows across Antarctica. Slow, interior flows have been sped up to make them more visible. The colors represent the real flow velocity magnitude.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. With all flows shown at the proper scale, only the fastest ice movement is visible. With colors representing velocity magnitude removed, glacier direction stands out against the icy background. Black lines mark continental ridges that separate regions of ice moving toward different parts of the coastline. Harsh snows have blanketed Antarctica for so long that the continent has built up an ice sheet a mile thick from bedrock to surface in most places. Despite the ice cap's grip on the rocky landmass below, friction can only hold back the ice so much. A new, first-of-its-kind map from NASA reveals icy Antarctica as a landscape of constant movement. NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and UC Irvine have charted this movement for the first time, using Canadian, Japanese and European satellite data to create a record of the speed and direction of ice flow across the entire continent. The map reveals glaciers and tributaries in patterned flows stretching hundreds of miles inland, like a system of rivers and creeks. Slow-moving flows found in largely unexplored East Antarctica defied previous understanding of ice migration. And scientists discovered a ridge that splits Antarctica from east to west. Explore the visualizations below to see the new benchmark map scientists can use to study the extent and speed of changes to the largest ice sheet in the world. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/antarctica20110818.html) Related pages

What does salinity have to do with ocean currents and climate change? Aquarius' orbit and swath of salinity measurements will provide complete coverage of the oceans every seven days. The impact of salinity on deep ocean circulation makes it a crucial climate influence to measure. Rainfall differences make the Atlantic saltier than the Pacific, seen in lighter versus darker areas of this salinity map based on ship data. Related pages

A region's brawny economy leaves a pall of black carbon over the Indo-Gangetic plain. Plumes of black carbon swirl over the Indo-Gangetic plain, but farther to the east more heavily polluted air dances over China. A snapshot from the model highlights what a strong barrier to airflow the Himalayas represent. A NASA satellite image provides a true-color look at the same phenomenon. The mountains keep haze fenced in to the southwest. Visualizations can't do it all. Here, scientists trek into the Himalayas to collect ice cores that contain soot layers dating back to the 1950s. Dark layers, comprised mainly of black carbon and dust, are clearly visible as a scientist explores a crevasse on Mera glacier in Nepal. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/himalayan-warming.html) Related pages

Hot plasma leaps from the sun in stunning HD. Viewing the event at multiple wavelengths reveals plasma of different temperatures in the solar eruption. At 4096 by 4096 pixels, SDO takes some of the largest images of the sun that the world's ever seen. A plume of relatively "cool" plasma (dark green) rises in the solar atmosphere. Earth is shown in approximate scale to a previous solar eruption that took place on Mar. 30, 2010. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/dark-fireworks.html) Related pages