October 18, 2013

Image Caption: The center of the Milky Way galaxy imaged by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is displayed on a quarter-of-a-billion-pixel, high-definition 23-foot-wide (7-meter) LCD science visualization screen at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

If youve ever downloaded a movie from the Internet, you know that large amounts of data can take time to transfer and process using a standard computer. Now imagine the herculean task NASA faces in trying to process the constant flood of data streaming in from the simple Voyager probe signal emanating from outside our Solar System to the hi-res images being downloaded from various orbiting telescopes.

Scientists use big data for everything from predicting weather on Earth to monitoring ice caps on Mars to searching for distant galaxies, said Eric De Jong of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and principal investigator for NASAs Solar System Visualization project.

De Jongs project team converts NASA mission science into visualization products that researchers can use for various projects.

We are the keepers of the data, and the users are the astronomers and scientists who need images, mosaics, maps and movies to find patterns and verify theories, De Jong said.

To manage the massive amount of data from space, NASA first needs a place to store the data. After the torrents of information are stored, the space agency needs a way to visualize the data in a palatable way.

Thats where De Jongs team comes in. The staff at the Solar System Visualization project is continually developing new ways to visualize data. For example, each image from NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which contains about 120 megapixels apiece, is used by the project to create a movie. De Jongs team also creates countless computer graphics and animations that allow scientists and the public to better understand the Red Planet.

Data are not just getting bigger but more complex, said De Jong. We are constantly working on ways to automate the process of creating visualization products, so that scientists and engineers can easily use the data.

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NASA Reveals Herculean Process Of Handling Big Data