Over the past four decades, how people look at the world has changed radically. Satellite images of the earth appear regularly on the evening news, and sophisticated analyses of weather phenomena like El Nino share screen time with weekend ski conditions and commuter driving forecasts. The material is updated frequently, depicting an evolving, near real-time picture of the world. Animations of developing events such as hurricanes also help audiences understand the subtle relationships that exist within the world's biosphere.
Viewers actually walk away knowing the very latest conditions on the planet.
A dynamic visualization helps people make connections that would be difficult to comprehend by simply reading text. We wanted to give the public a basic conception of the scientific data being collected and help them understand what is happening on the earth on any given day. We believe the exhibit offers a unique experience that simply can't be seen on television, in movie theaters, or anywhere else. Images of global cloud cover, sea temperatures, and biosphere data are gathered from a number of different satellites. The Earthquake Information Center of the USGS provides hourly updates of worldwide earthquakes measuring more than 4.5 on the Richter scale, which are then posted directly to the exhibit in real time.