Eyes on the Solar System Options

[Astro0]

Eyes on the Solar System is JPLs cool new tool for we 'armchair explorers' to use and follow spacecraft as they explore space.
Check it out here.

As Doug said: ...go find the NEAR mission and watch it's orbital phase with Eros.... see the Pioneer 11 flyby of Jupiter, and go 'OMFG' at the Ulysses trajectory. There's a million things we're still trying to put into it - chances are any suggestions someone might have, we've already got it on a very very unfunded list of 'love to put in...' - but make suggestions

So go for it. Try it out and if you have some cool ideas, leave a message here.

[dmuller]

WOW!

Any chance to have a module which could be incorporated into other websites (e.g. auto-image), or iframe in a small application. Very very selfishly thinking of my realtime simulations, eg. http://www.dmuller.net/dawn

[djellison]

It's a thought. We're using the same data you do basically ( SPICE ) so they should tie up. The system is very very flexible ( look at the URL for the EPOXI Live, for example - it just calles Eyes... with a document that defines the 'live' experience, and this could be done for just about anything.

Meanwhile - if anyone's thinking "wtf?"

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eyes/tutorials.html

Yup - that was me, in a recording booth, for 3 hrs.

[dmuller]

It's a thought. We're using the same data you do basically ( SPICE ) so they should tie up. The system is very very flexible ( look at the URL for the EPOXI Live, for example - it just calles Eyes... with a document that defines the 'live' experience, and this could be done for just about anything.

The web unity player just crashed my firefox ... :-(
Anyway, personally, I would prefer if it could create a "snapshot" of the view, similar to the solar system simulator, as the whole application takes a long time to read, and I fear interference with my javascripts.

Meanwhile, do you have a "url map" to the live missions you cover? I can use that to provide a link from my pages to Eyes on a mission by mission basis.

[djellison]

Nope - we don't have that link-straight-in ability yet. We will though, eventually. And yeah - Unity has issues, but it's essentially the only technique to do what we're doing in a browser.

We're shifting from Unity 2.6 to 3.0 soon, which MAY, we HOPE, solve some of the problems. Most of them are with the plugin sadly.

[4th rock from th...]

The plug-in will always give you trouble...

Why not go for the less powerful but very effective Flash using a 3D engine such as Away3D ?
Here's a simple demo of what performance to expect:
http://www.everydayflash.com/flash/away/

Of course, not exactly the same thing, but everybody will get the same results.

[djellison]

I can think of no plugin I hate more than Flash. It does a great job of turning a mac laptop into a toasted sandwich maker.

We're 12 months into EotSS, so a major platform change is out of the question, plus the dev team is working from the Unity experience built from CASSIE and Eyes on the Earth before this.

We use Unity because, really, it's the best for the job. 'Less powerful' isn't an option given what we're trying to do. I can put you in touch with one of the devs if you really want this discussion

Have you actually tried EotSS

[Poolio]

Oh, wow. This is amazing. I am stunned by the range and depth of features, and the crispness of the visuals. Still learning to navigate efficiently. Is there a way to turn off objects once they're turned on? I have asteroids and spacecraft everywhere. Just scratching the surface still; I can't wait to delve in deeper!

I'm going to be late for work now and it's all your fault.

[dmuller]

The plug-in will always give you trouble...

One of the reasons why I stick to good old javascript ... not perfect either, not powerful (but I don't program graphics anyway) ... but at least no plug-ins!

[4th rock from th...]

Have you actually tried EotSS

Tried... couldn't get it to install on my low end PC at the office with Firefox. About Flash... I'll just say that it simply works across a wide range of machines.

To keep things short and focused on the point I'm trying to make, plug-ins like Unity are great, but will give you performance and installation problems in a school or small community scenery, with outdated or less powerful PCs. Also, you will have the potential problems of needing administrator access to download and install the plug-in.

Of course, if you are targeting a specific audience, with good knowledge of software and a nice PC, then yes, Unity is the best option.

[eoincampbell]

Everything working well and zipping along on my new mac mini... Awesome!

[JohnVV]

i will stick with celestia , my maps, and the spice kernels
I do not need yet another different browser app using a different version of flash on a different platform using different parts of flash

[djellison]

Just for the record - Eyes on the Solar System uses the very same spice kernels, and doesn't use flash.

[ElkGroveDan]

PC World Raves Over JPL's "Eyes on the Solar System"
http://www.pcworld.com/article/221783/cont...me_with_nasas_e

[nprev]

Attaboy, Doug!