N · geographic pole S · geographic pole toward the Sun
Earth–Sun geometry

Northern Southern
Earth’s rotation axis is tilted 23.44° to its orbital plane.
Earth by BlueHelios Live visualization
Data Field
Fields top layer first
World viewCompose the frame
Globe Map
SceneLight & sky

Scientific presentation preserves the data palette. Cinematic adds full atmospheric haze and bloom.

☀

Calculated light
The selected time sets the Sun’s position and day/night boundary. It changes only the globe’s shading, not the data.

✦

Presentation view
Use for an atmospheric, polished look. It adds haze, bloom, and filmic colour, so it is less suitable when comparing exact data colours.

✦

Celestial context
Shows the stars and Milky Way at their calculated positions. Use it to orient the globe in the night sky; it does not change the data.

⌁

Sky guide
Connects catalogue stars into familiar figures. Turn it on with Stars when identifying parts of the sky; it is decorative rather than data.

↟

Earth’s orientation
Marks the geographic poles and rotation axis. Use it to explain tilt, latitude, and the geometry behind day length.

☀

Seasonal geometry
Shows the Sun direction and axial tilt for the selected time. Use it to relate illumination and seasons; it does not alter the field data.

Turns eastward, the natural direction of Earth’s rotation.

The rotation axis meets the geographic poles. Magnetic poles are different: they drift over time.

ColourData palette
LayersField opacity

Multiple fields are stacked over the base field. Blend the whole stack together, or fine-tune each one.

SurfaceData definition
ContextMap overlays

Map-like hillshade with major rivers and lake shorelines.

Synoptic isobarsEqual sea-level pressure
OutputVideo format

MotionCinematic approach
Time rangeAnimate the dataset clock
Use this UTC time on every date in the range. Frames hold each archived time, so the Sun stays at that time of day.
Place valuesFields shown at capitals and towns

Multiple fields are on screen. Choose which ones label capitals and towns — each adds a line to the label.

CaptionTimestamp and attribution
About this viewInformation
Dataset

Field

Projection

Sky

PerformanceGrid and GPU details
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Data & credits