Solar System Update

20 December 2012

Anyone looking for a last-minute Christmas present might consider the recently-updated Solar System for iPad, the best-selling astronomy app with images, maps and data provided by Planetary Visions. Version 1.1 keeps the title current, with new stories on Vesta, Curiosity and extrasolar planets, new images, more detailed maps for the terrestrial planets, and an improved virtual orrery. The update is available now, in English, German and Japanese, from the iTunes App Store. learn more...

Satellite Science in the Headlines

30 November 2012

Planetary Visions helped make headlines around the world yesterday as an international scientific team announced its findings on ice sheet loss and global sea level rise. The evening news bulletins of all four main broadcasters in the UK aired simulated flights around the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica to show ice thickness measured from satellites over a twenty-year period. The data visualisations were created by Planetary Visions for the European Space Agency, who partnered with NASA and 24 other institutions in a systematic investigation of the ice sheets, led by the University of Leeds, to be published in the journal Science. These animations, which were also shown at this week's UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, are the latest in a package of material being produced by Planetary Visions for ESA to explain the science results from ESA's space missions to policymakers and the general public.

CryoSat Science Results

24 April 2012

Planetary Visions is at the Royal Society in London this morning helping to unveil new maps of Arctic ice cover as part of the celebration of 50 years of UK activity in space. 3D animated graphics are used to present new maps of the height of Greenland's ice cap and the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, both derived from the European Space Agency's CryoSat satellite by UK science teams. Science Minister David Willetts is among the speakers at the event, which is organised jointly by ESA and the UK Space Agency. learn more...

Satellite Images for Panorama

12 March 2012

Planetary Visions is providing the satellite images for tonight's Panorama, the BBC's flagship current affairs programme. Homs: Journey into Hell (BBC1 8:30pm tonight) documents the recent uprising in the Syrian city of Homs. Reports from the city are backed up with detailed satellite images showing the battered district of Baba Amr. Working with visual effects designer Morgan Sendall, Planetary Visions researched and processed imagery from NASA's EO-1 satellite and DigitalGlobe's QuickBird, and sourced analysed images from Human Rights Watch and the US State Department. Our previous work for Panorama has included programmes on the death of Osama Bin Laden, the Fukushima nuclear plant, and conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza and Darfur. learn more...