Differing approaches between SpaceX and NASA to sending rockets to the moon

For The Washington Post, William Neff, Aaron Steckelberg, and Christian Davenport show the contrast between NASA and SpaceX using a scrolly tour through 3-D rocket models.

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Cinematic visualization

Using the third dimension in visualization can be tricky because of rendering, perception, and presentation. Matthew Conlen, Jeffrey Heer, Hillary Mushkin, and Scott Davidoff provide a strong use case in their paper on what they call cinematic visualization:

The many genres of narrative visualization (e.g. data comics, data videos) each offer a unique set of affordances and constraints. To better understand a genre that we call cinematic visualizations—3D visualizations that make highly deliberate use of a camera to convey a narrative—we gathered 50 examples and analyzed their traditional cinematic aspects to identify the benefits and limitations of the form. While the cinematic visualization approach can violate traditional rules of visualization, we find that through careful control of the camera, cinematic visualizations enable immersion in data-driven, anthropocentric environments, and can naturally incorporate in- situ narrators, concrete scales, and visual analogies.

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Depth of the underwater Tonga volcano

Mark Doman and Alex Palmer, for ABC News, show the depth of the Tonga volcano that erupted earlier this year with a 3-D model. “While the depth of the caldera shocked him, the fact the rest of the volcano appeared to be largely unchanged was equally as surprising.”

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3-D modeling the french fry universe

What is the best french fry shape? Curly of course. But Chris Williams took it a step further and used 3-D models of various fried potato forms to find out. It’s all about the ratio between crispy exterior and fluffy interior.

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Scale of ocean depths

We know the oceans are deep, but it’s difficult to grasp the scale of just how deep, because, well, it’s underwater. MetaBallStudios, a YouTube channel that focuses on perspective and 3-D animation, guides you through the depths of major bodies of water. You’ll pass notable on-land monuments along the way. [via kottke]

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Visual guide for protecting your home from wildfire

Aaron Steckelberg and Tik Root for The Washington Post provide a visual guide on how to protect your home from wildfire. It starts with an ember floating carefree in the air, and then the tour highlights actions you can take.

Can’t wait for the guides on how to protect your home from flooding and/or how to dress for extreme temperatures.

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Vintage relief maps

Muir Way updates vintage relief maps with a third dimension. Pretty. The above is a geologic map of the United States, based on a 1932 print.

Scott Reinhard made similar maps last year, but Muir Way leaned a little more into it with more geographic areas and prints to buy.

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A tour of the king’s tattoos

DR used a 3-D model to recreate King Frederick the 9th’s ink:

King Frederick the 9th was famous for his tattoos. But until recently — noone knew much about them. By examining hundreds of old photographs and films we have recreated the Kings’ ink in order to get a sence of who he was — both on the inside and the outside.

The scrolly touring works really well here. I went in knowing nothing about the king and came out more educated on the other side.

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Segregation compared during work and at home

Based on commuting data from the Census Bureau, researchers Matthew Hall, John Iceland, and Youngmin Yi tracked segregation during the day and night. Alvin Chang for Vox mapped their results:

They found that when white people go to work, they are around only slightly more people of color than when they’re in their home neighborhoods. But for everyone else, going to work means being exposed to many more white people — and far fewer people of their own race.

Browse the map to see the results for your own city.

It appears that the 3-D map is making a small comeback (Thanks, Matt Daniels), to the delight of some and perhaps to the chagrin of others. I’m ready for it. I wonder when data graphic résumés are coming.

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Posted by in 3-d, maps, Vintage

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