Spectrum Explorer

Client: NSO/ATLAS
Services: ATLAS | Coder | Creator | Data Visualization
Role: Creator/Developer
Type: Data Visualization
Year: 2021

The National Solar Observatory collected  detailed spectra from the Sun. This data is extremely detailed (If  printed onto a strip a few inches wide, the roll of paper would extend  for several hundred yards). It is rich in information but scientists  complain that it is hard to find and even harder to use.

My tool  creates a way to explore this spectra in hot parts of the Sun and also  the cooler parts we find in sunspots. tool, the information becomes  accessible and with this easier to use format , the more possible it is  to link those different pieces of information. This is the adjacent  possible, a kind of future look at a subject. We see some of the nearby  stars but the vast majority of stars near our Sun are invisible; they  are too small and cool to see.

While we can’t use our Sun to study stars  hotter than our Sun, we can use our closest star to know these cool  nearby suns. Knowing what elements are present at a wide range of  temperatures within our Sun might lead to discoveries of new elements or  more importantly lead scientists to understand new processes that we  don’t see here.

  • Built in D3
  • Steep learning curve
  • Data is not normalized so hard to work with together
  • Large datasets
  • Units between atlases mixed

 

View Spectrum Explorer