At its Silver Spring, Maryland, headquarters in November, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opened the 100th installation of its “Science on a Sphere”: a 1.7-meter-diameter globe on which more than 400 annotated three-dimensional animations of Earth or other celestial bodies can be projected. Through the use of computers and four video projectors, the system displays global data sets that range from real-time weather satellite imagery and climate models to ocean temperatures and currents, the propagation of tsunamis, and even the paths of all airplane flights over a 24-hour period.

Identical spheres are located in 15 countries, including Mexico, which has 15, and China, which has 6. Most are housed in museums and aquariums, although a handful are located in NASA and NOAA facilities. Inventor Sandy MacDonald, director of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, says that in addition to their educational role, the spheres can help scientists...

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