Ever wonder what people in far off places are seeing at the same time you’re looking up at the sky? On October 18, sky-watchers across the globe can take part in a 24-hour phenomenon by using Look Up’s new app, Skyfie, and share their experiences as they look up at our shared sky.
Working with the Dorothy Jemison Foundation, Blue Raster helped develop the Sky Tapestry 3D Globe for the October 18th Look Up event. Dr. Jemison, spearheading the Look Up event, is a physician, engineer, educator and entrepreneur, and was the first woman of color in the world to go into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. She was a NASA astronaut for six years before founding her own technology company and is now the current principal of the 100 Year Starship organization.
The app captures expressions of what individuals see and feel and allows participants to see the sky from a different perspective. Images, audio/video, and text about the sky taken in the mobile app will populate the Sky Tapestry globe in near-real time.
The Sky Tapestry is built on Esri’s latest 3D Globe technology. Skyfies from the mobile app populate a Google Firebase database. Blue Raster developed a Node.js script to push records from Skyfie to an ArcGIS Online feature layer, which display on the Globe.
“I believe the impact of looking up at the sky can be as profound as seeing the Earth from space orbit. Especially when it’s a shared, worldwide experience!” – Dr. Mae Jemison
Download the app for iOS or Android and take part in Look Up! Follow the #LookUpTogether, #Skyfie and #lookuponesky tags on social media for news and updates about this global event.
