A timelapse earth simulation from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) depicts seven days in 2005 when a category-4 typhoon developed off the coast of China.

NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) has released a stunning earth simulation video that shows Earth in a way you may have never seen before.

The video is a timelapse simulation that depicts seven days in 2005 when a category-4 typhoon developed off the coast of China. The seven-day period is repeated several times during the course of the visualization.

Scientists used data from NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5), to depict the simulation’s volume-rendered clouds. This particular run of the simulation, called 7km GEOS-5 Nature Run (7km-G5NR), was executed on a supercomputer. This short visualization produced petabytes of output and referenced nearly a terabyte of brickmap files.

According to the SVS website, the goal of videos like the above is to provide the public with a clearer picture of our planet and our own place within it, as well as give people an idea of what NASA is all about: “The SVS works closely with scientists in the creation of visualizations, animations, and images in order to promote a greater understanding of Earth and space science research activities at Goddard Space Flight Center and within the NASA research community.”

And watch what happens if a large asteroid hits the planet.

Earth Simulation References: NASA SVS, National Geographic

Written By: Jolene Creighton @sciencejolene Website

August 12, 2014