Other team members:
 

Scientific Focus of Data Sets: Solar system and beyond

Description of Data Sets:

NASA Datasets:

LRO LOLA Elevation Model, Lunar 5m Geologic Map Renovation, Mars HRSC MOLA Blended DEM Global 200m version 2, Blue Marble: Next Generation Topography and Bathymetry, Sea Ice Concentration and Snow Extent, Global (1 Day - SSM/I/DMSP), Cloud Fraction (1 Month - AQUA/MODIS), Solar Insolation (1 Month - NASA NEO), Earth True Color (1 Day - NPP/VIIRS), Cassini's Best Maps of Jupiter (PIA07783, PIA07784, PIA02863, PIA07782), Viking Global Color Mosaic 925m v1, Mercury MESSENGER Global DEM 665m, NASA HORIZONS, "Object Classification" (NASA PDS Small Bodies Node), TNO and Centaur Diameters, Albedos, and Densities v1.0.

Non-NASA Datasets (all sources are open data or used with permission):

Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (IAU, open data), Stellarium (Stellarium, open data), HYG Database version 3.0 (David Nash, open data), Western Constellation Lines (Marc van der Sluys, used with permission), Catalogue of Constellation Boundary Data (A.C. Davenhall and S.K. Leggett, used with permission), Tectonic plate boundaries (USGS, open data), Cultural Vectors Populated Places (Natural Earth, open data), Physical Vectors Rivers Centerlines (Natural Earth, open data), Geologic Map of Mars SIM 3292 (USGS, open data), "Planets and Pluto: Physical Characteristics" (JPL, open data), "NEO Close Earth Approaches" (JPL, open data).

Non-NASA books used for reference:

"Concise Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects" by W.H. Finlay, "Astronomy" by Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney C. Wolff et al.

Scientific Potential of Presentation:

"An Atlas of Space" is a collection of ten maps designed to communicate space geography using open-source data and code. To name a few, the maps include an animated visualization of the seasons of Earth, the geology of Mars, and all asteroids in the solar system with a diameter larger than 10km. The project includes several maps that tackle data visualization techniques for complex scientific data. For example, a map of more than 18,000 asteroids in the solar system uses logarithmic distance and diameter scaling to clearly visualize orbit dynamics. Geologic maps of the Moon and Mars use alternative color schemes to emphasize specific geologic units. This project also aims to communicate complex scientific findings to the general public by combining scientific datasets with decorative illustrations.