The Maps Of The Week

There were 2 existent stand-out maps this week, NASA's 3d map of the Vesta asteroid and Refugee Republic's map of Domiz Refugee Camp.

Domiz Refugee Camp inward Iraqi Kurdistan was established inward Apr 2012 to host Syrian Kurds. The military camp was originally built to identify 38,135 people. It is currently dwelling to 57,953 refugees. As the lay out of refugees has grown the military camp has gradually transformed from a temporary refuge into a makeshift town,

Refugee Republic has created an online documentary virtually the camp, using the Leaflet.js mapping platform to plough a paw drawn map into a fully interactive map. You tin give the sack click on the colored roads too arrows on the map to acquire to a greater extent than virtually life inward Domiz Camp. The tour includes videos of the camp, information on how the military camp too shelters were constructed too the stories of only about of the refugees straightaway living inward Domiz Camp.


In 2011 the DAWN spacecraft visited Vesta to collect information virtually this of import asteroid. You tin give the sack straightaway explore Vesta yourself using NASA's Digital Model of Asteroid Vesta.

Vesta is ane of the largest asteroids inward the asteroid belt, amongst a hateful diameter of 525 kilometres. The Digital Model of Asteroid Vesta allows yous to sentiment the asteroid every bit a sec or 3d map. The map itself seems to combine an Esri map amongst a Cesium WebGL globe.

The 3d map includes a lay out of information overlays which render dissimilar views of the mineral make-up of Vesta. The sec map sentiment includes a global (equirectangular) sentiment of Vesta, a northward pole sentiment too a due south pole view. It also includes a lay out of tools which allow yous to stair out distance on Vesta too to sentiment acme profiles (especially handy if yous desire to visualize the depth of Vesta's craters).


One of the joys of maps is that they allow yous to explore places that yous powerfulness never see inward real-life. Having already explored an asteroid too a refugee military camp why non also conduct maintain a tour of Robben Island. Google has released Street View imagery for Robben Island inward South Africa.

Robben Island is most famous every bit the prison theatre where Nelson Mandela was held for xviii of the 27 years he served behind bars. The best agency to explore the novel Street View imagery is on the Robben Island Museum page on Google's Cultural Institute website. The Robben Island Museum entry includes a guided tour of the prison theatre yesteryear quondam political prisoners. The Robben Island Prison Tour is a guided tour of the prison theatre using the novel Google Maps Street View imagery too narration from quondam political prisoner, Vusumsi Mcongo.

The tour includes the sentiment prisoners would conduct maintain on arriving at the island, a sentiment from within a guard tower, the infirmary ward, the practice yard too Nelson Mandela's ain 2m x 2m cell. Most of these Street View scenes are accompanied yesteryear videos inward which Vusumsi Mcongo explains what life was similar every bit a prisoner on Robben Island.