simulation
Data sources, refresh behavior, and visualization techniques used in the simulation.
Summary
- Built in `SvelteKit` and `Three.js`.
- Combines live APIs, static global datasets, and procedural layers.
- Uses streamlines, ribbons, heatmaps, shell overlays, sprites, orbital paths, and multi-scene rendering.
- Uses server-side TTL caching, browser-side IndexedDB caching, and route-level lazy loading.
Earth And Basemap
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borders | Natural Earth country polygons plus local country metadata | Static local asset | Composited into the globe texture. |
| Labels | Local country centroid and population data derived from Natural Earth companion datasets | Static local asset | Screen-space label layer tied to the global labels toggle. |
| Rivers | Natural Earth river centerlines | Static local asset | Precomputed ribbon geometry rendered as animated flow. |
| Grid | Procedural graticule | Procedural | Latitude / longitude reference grid. |
| Plates | Local tectonic plate boundary data | Static local asset | Dashed overlay baked into the base texture. |
| Ocean Floor | Bathymetry and ocean mask textures | Static local asset | Shader-driven displacement and depth-based ocean coloring. |
Weather And Atmosphere
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind | Open-Meteo wind speed and direction fields via `/api/wind` | 1 hour server TTL | Particle streamlines from sampled u/v vectors, with procedural fallback. |
| Currents | Procedural ocean-current field | Procedural | Streamlines masked to oceans. |
| Clouds | NASA Worldview / Earthdata true-color imagery via `/api/clouds` | 1 hour server TTL | Three cloud shells at different radii and speeds. |
| Temperature | Open-Meteo sampled weather grid via `/api/weather` | 1 hour server TTL | Weather heatmap from sampled grid. |
| Pressure | Open-Meteo sampled weather grid via `/api/weather` | 1 hour server TTL | Isobars from sampled grid. |
| Precip | Open-Meteo sampled weather grid via `/api/weather` | 1 hour server TTL | Precipitation overlay from sampled grid. |
| Air Quality | OpenAQ PM2.5 latest observations | 10 minute server TTL | Scale-aware point sprites. |
Natural Events
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quakes | USGS earthquake GeoJSON feeds | 1 to 15 minutes depending on range | Point layer with normalized magnitude / depth / time. |
| Volcanoes | Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program | 24 hour server TTL | Persistent global point layer. |
| Fires | NASA FIRMS VIIRS fire detections | 30 minute server TTL | Downsampled fire detections rendered as points. |
| Lightning | Blitzortung websocket stream | 30 second in-memory ring buffer | Recent strike buffer rendered as live points. |
| Fireballs | NASA JPL fireball API | 1 hour server TTL | Historical atmospheric entry points. |
Communications And Infrastructure
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell Towers | OpenCelliD-derived tower data | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Terrain-aware point markers. |
| Internet Infra | PeeringDB IXPs and data center metadata | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Mixed point-and-connection layer. |
| Sub Cables | Submarine cable route data | Cached in browser IndexedDB | 3D ribbons with motion cues. |
| Landing Pts | Submarine cable landing station data | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Coastal node layer. |
| Satellites | CelesTrak active satellites via `/api/satellites` | 1 hour server TTL | Client-side propagation from orbital elements. |
| Ground Stn | SatNOGS station network | 24 hour server TTL | Ground station node layer. |
| Microwave | Microwave relay link data | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Point-to-point terrestrial links. |
| BGP Peering | Derived peering and interconnection dataset | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Arc layer for interconnection routes. |
| Spectrum | Derived spectrum utilization dataset | Cached in browser IndexedDB | RF density heatmap. |
Transportation, Industry, And Conflict
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Railways | Natural Earth rail data | Static local asset | Static network with motion accents. |
| Shipping | Procedural shipping-lane model | Procedural | Route-density traffic layer. |
| Ships | Digitraffic AIS via `/api/ships` | 30 second server TTL | Live vessel points capped server-side. |
| Planes | OpenSky via `/api/planes` | 15 second server TTL | Aircraft sprites with heading and normalized altitude. |
| ISS | Dedicated client-side orbital model | Client-side | Tracked object rendered separately from general satellite layer. |
| Power Plants | WRI Global Power Plant Database | Cached in browser IndexedDB | Scale-aware point layer. |
| Cities | Local city dataset | Static local asset | City layer integrated with the day/night model. |
| Conflict (Live) | GDELT conflict event feed | 5 to 15 minute server TTL | Live conflict event layer. |
| Conflict (UCDP) | UCDP GED | 1 hour server TTL | Historical conflict event layer. |
| Conflict Risk | VIEWS forecasting API | Run id 24 hours, results 6 hours | Forecast risk layer mapped from grid cells. |
Space And Deep Space
| Layer | Data source | Refresh / cache | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| HYG Starfield | HYG star catalog | Static local asset | Background starfield layer for broad stellar density. |
| Gaia Starfield | Gaia star catalog | Static local asset | Denser nearby-star layer with scale-aware visibility. |
| Sun | Client-side astronomical position model | Client-side | Rendered as a scale-aware solar object tied to the zoom model. |
| Planets | Client-side astronomical position model and curated physical parameters | Client-side | Planet meshes rendered with scale-aware sizing. |
| Moon | Client-side lunar position model | Client-side | Separate lunar layer linked to the planet system. |
| Saturn Rings | Client-side Saturn model | Client-side | Dedicated ring geometry attached to the Saturn rendering path. |
| Asteroid Belt | Procedural belt model | Client-side | Belt-scale particle / object field for mid-solar-system context. |
| Tracked Asteroids | Tracked asteroid dataset | Static local asset | Named asteroid objects rendered separately from the generic belt. |
| Orbit Lines | Client-side orbital path generation | Client-side | Orbit paths rendered as separate line layers. |
| Comets | Comet dataset and client-side orbital path generation | Static local asset | Tracked comet objects with orbit lines and optional labels. |
| Satellites | CelesTrak active TLEs via `/api/satellites` | 1 hour server TTL | SGP4 propagation from live TLEs with client-side position updates. |
| Spacecraft | JPL Horizons via `/api/spacecraft` | 24 hour server TTL | Sequential ephemeris queries rendered as tracked spacecraft. |
| Space Labels | Client-side annotation dataset | Static local asset | Solar-system labels controlled by the global labels toggle. |
| Constellation Lines | Constellation line dataset | Static local asset | Line layer for major constellations. |
| Stellar Labels | Client-side stellar annotation dataset | Static local asset | Named star / constellation labels controlled by the global labels toggle. |
| Galactic Panorama | Milky Way panorama assets | Static local asset | Galaxy-scale panoramic backdrop rendered in the main scene. |
| Milky Way Particles | Client-side galaxy particle model | Client-side | Particle-based Milky Way structure. |
| Nebulae | Nebula asset set | Static local asset | Additive deep-space nebula rendering. |
| Milky Way Model | Client-side galaxy model | Client-side | Separate galaxy-scene layer for large-scale Milky Way structure. |
| Local Group | Client-side local-group dataset | Static local asset | Nearby-galaxy context rendered in its own scale regime. |
| Cosmic Web | Client-side cosmic web model | Static local + procedural | Large-scale structure rendering in a dedicated far scene. |
| SDSS Cosmic Web | SDSS-inspired cosmic structure dataset | Static local asset | Observed / catalog-inspired large-scale structure overlay. |
| CMB | Cosmic microwave background texture / dataset | Static local asset | Farthest-back scene layer for cosmological context. |