Watch Satellite Data In Action

By Nancy Atkinson - August 17, 2009 at 2:37 PM UTC | Missions

Ever wonder about all the different data that satellites are collecting as they orbit Earth? This video is a sample of Bella Gaia, a 45-minute movie is meant to be watched in an immersive theater, such as a fulldome planetarium. This clip is an audio visual "Living Atlas" journey of our world, showing the beauty and fragility of planet Earth as seen through satellite data. Created by director and violist Kenji Williams, the The movie is based on the stunning orbital imagery created by SCISS' Uniview software and NASA, and shows data ranging from oil consumption and air traffic, over Earth's magnetosphere and polar sub storms to time-lapse images of the Arctic ice melt. It's a new way to look at Earth, and hopefully will instill some of the awe that the first "Earthrise" images brought. Look for the full version coming soon to an immersive theater near you.

More info on Bella Gaia.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com