Near Earth Objects dataset

For this week’s Data Representation assignment, we were asked to select a dataset from the Guardian Data Store and represent it in two ways. The first is the Tufte way, which focuses on simplicity and clarity. The other is to look at the unique character of the dataset, and try to represent it in a way that only applies to our data.

I’ve chosen the Close Earth Encounters dataset, which looks at asteroid flybys circa 2011.

For the first representation, I’ve done a straight-forward chart with distance on one axis and size on the other:

 

For the character representation, I’m plotting the asteroids in a faux-orbital path around the earth to represent the distance in relation to other satellites (e.g. The Moon, the Space Shuttle and Mars), and also indicate the scale of the system. The length of the tail corresponds to the velocity of the asteroid, and the brightness of the tail maps to the diameter of the object. I’ve also included data from the recent DA14 flyby, as a benchmark that people may be familiar with.

Move your mouse along the Y axis to change the scale.