Monday Connect: Favorite / Amazing Data Visualizations

[cogdog]

From an online conversation about tracking earth orbiting satellites (many of which continually fall and land on Earth), someone referenced this amazing LEOLABS Low Earth Orbit Visualization that tracks in real time the position of them (note the red ones marked as debris).

What are data visualizations you know that are impressive in their ability to present and make data understandable? What are ones that make you stop and say, “Wow”? Or what are ones you regularly use?

A few more from my bookmarks:

• Calculating Empires - A Genealogy of Technology and Power Since 1500
• What if you could search every visible word on New York City’s streets?
• Country Centered Map Projections What does it look like if you center a map on a specific country? Click on a country to find out.
• Global AI Vibrancy Tool Which countries are leading in AI?
• Global River Runner - pick a spot anywhere (in the US) and follow its path of flow where it ultimately will go
• Dollar Street - In the news people in other cultures seem stranger than they are. We visited 264 families in 50 countries and collected 30,000 photos. We sorted the homes by income, from left to right. (from Gapminder, CC licensed)

See how people really live

[marcela]

This is such a great collection, @cogdog. Thank you for sharing it. That LEOLABS visualization really does have that “pause and stare for a while” quality.

A couple that have stayed with me over time:

• Gapminder tools: (like the animated bubble charts) – watching entire regions shift over decades in a few seconds is always striking, and it makes long-term trends feel tangible.

• NASA’s Eyes: “Eyes on Earth” / “Eyes on the Solar System” similar to the satellite visualization, but with a broader lens. It’s one of those that reminds you just how dynamic (and crowded) space around us really is.

• Windy.com: I find myself coming back to this often. The way it layers wind, pressure, temperature, and storms in motion makes complex atmospheric systems feel almost intuitive.

• Our World in Data: less flashy, but incredibly powerful. Many of their interactive charts (on climate, health, inequality) are so well designed that they quietly shift your understanding as you explore.

Would love to see what others add, these kinds of tools are endlessly fascinating.

[cogdog]

Thanks for a list! I vividly remember seeing the 2006 Gapminder TEDtalk by Hans Roling – the Dollar Street one I shared above is from them. I could not tell how current their projects are.