Eyes on the Earth

Eyes on the Earth is an application [ eyes.nasa.gov ] that allows users to explore Earth's vital signs, fly along with NASA's satellites and view the latest images of Earth. We were shown the simulator system at JPL that enables people to interact and explore various facets of Earth's systems from an out of this world perspective. Among Eyes on Earth was SpaceCraft 3D, Eyes of the Solar System and ExoPlanets or stars. The Eyes on the Earth program, in my opinion closely related to the SMAP project we are working with at NASA because it collects Earthly data recorded by satellites-- including temperatures, climate, sea level, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water and ice, etc. Each satellite is responsible for certain datasets. For example, the Aqua Mission is responsible for Air Surface Temperature. The application allows you to take daily or average measurements over a few days. You are also able to select certain days-- you can even go back in time!

I researched this application when I got home and wanted to share one interesting thing I discovered. I was looking at the GRACE Mission which measures Earth's gravity field. The image below depicts Earth's Gravity Field Map. The image is exaggerated by the information is not. The red areas indicate where gravity is stronger than normal; the blue depicts regions where gravity has become weaker. By collecting data on Earth's gravity field, scientists are able to track the movement of water and ice on our planet. Ice variations and changes create variations in gravity. This can only be measured by GRACE satellite.