I have a bit of a backlog of 3d views i have not yet introduced here on the blog and which i am trying to work through in the next few posts.
The first is a set of globe views based on the Green Marble mosaic. Whole Earth views possibly seem at first glance a relatively boring variant of 3d Earth views because of the lack of variability in composition. But the options in perspective are more diverse than you might think at first.
Here a sequence of views with the same lighting centered on the same point but with different distances from the Earth center and to create matching sizes of the planet in view different camera angles. As you can see although the appearance of the planet as a whole is always circular the overall impression varies quite a lot.
This is the combined effect of the inherent distortion of a wide angle camera at shorter distance and the curved shape of the Earth surface. It allows for significant variability in composition of a whole earth view even when looking at the same point on the earth surface.
Here the set of views i want to introduce – which i had produced quite some time ago but which i added to the catalog just now:
Of course custom views are possible as well – just drop me a note if you are in need of one.
November 28, 2021 at 14:24
Are physical globes available that look like these visualizations?
November 28, 2021 at 14:57
There are globes available using non-cartographic satellite image based surface designs but none based on the Green Marble so far. Despite the obvious shortcomings of globes designed in such a way (it is not possible to properly simulate an atmosphere on a physical globe model) it would be nice to see a physical globe based on the Green Marble.