
Cesium – An open-source JavaScript library for 3D globes and maps - fitzwatermellow
http://cesiumjs.org/
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mixedbit
For those not familiar with WebGL community. Cesium guys are the key
contributors to the whole WebGL ecosystem. They for example are main authors
of the glTF standard for delivering 3D assets optimized for the browser
(adopted by many engines). Also the main reference book that gathers community
knowledge 'WebGL Insights' is edited by the Cesium founder.

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zgengr
Don't mean to hijack, but if you're interested in 3D globes (and 2D
projections), NASA has been working on porting World Wind to Web:

[https://github.com/NASAWorldWind/WebWorldWind](https://github.com/NASAWorldWind/WebWorldWind)

and

[http://webworldwind.org](http://webworldwind.org)

The power of WebGL is awesome!

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pekk
It isn't really fair to posters of a neat open source project for the top
reply to be a hijack pointing people at a competing project, even if it does
say "don't mean to hijack."

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zgengr
I totally agree and Cesium is a really cool project and I encourage people to
check it out (the number of interesting applications they showcase is really
impressive). Just proud of what our team has come up with and wanted to share.

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dalke
That sounds like a ShowHN would be a better fit than a comment.

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wrigby
This is from the same people that make Systems Toolkit (STK), which is well-
known and used a lot in the space industry. They know what they're doing.

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DanAndersen
I used Cesium.js for a visualization project for one of my clients a few
months back and was pleased at how well the engine was designed. As someone
interested in globe-based graphics rendering, I found a lot of interesting
insights in the book the Cesium developers wrote, "3D Engine Design for
Virtual Globes":

[https://www.amazon.com/3D-Engine-Design-Virtual-
Globes/dp/15...](https://www.amazon.com/3D-Engine-Design-Virtual-
Globes/dp/1568817118)

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Aaron1011
Note for anyone using HTTPS Everywhere: The demo currently doesn't work over
HTTPS, due to
'[http://cesiumjs.org/Cesium/Build/Apps/CesiumViewer/index.htm...](http://cesiumjs.org/Cesium/Build/Apps/CesiumViewer/index.html')
being served over HTTP.

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stirbot
A related effort is Terria which uses both Cesium and Leaflet for 3D and 2D
mapping. Kevin Ring contributes to both Cesium and Terria.

[https://github.com/TerriaJS/terriajs](https://github.com/TerriaJS/terriajs)

[http://nationalmap.gov.au/](http://nationalmap.gov.au/)

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coredog64
Does it handle the usecase where KML has tracks that cross the -180/+180
latitude boundary?

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gnarbarian
Been there. I feel your pain.

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sailfast
This seems like it would work really well to transition users from Google
Earth and other closed-source globes to more open data sources. Specifically,
this would be hugely valuable for developers in the military, disaster
response, and intelligence communities and opens up the possibility for more
quickly prototyping geospatial "Common operating pictures"

That said, as a day-to-day developer short of star mapping or orbits I'm not
sure I prefer the globe format to a flat earth projection. Cool to see this
open source and I'll definitely keep it in mind.

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andthenwhat
Cesium does have a flat earth projection built in as well (there's a wireframe
globe in top right of main page demo, and clicking it allows you to switch
between 3D and 2D).

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Swizec
Holy shit this is smoother on my iPhone than scrolling is on most websites on
my laptop O.O

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ohitsdom
Very cool! Couldn't find a way to generate a link to a direct spot on the map,
but if you go to Kennedy Space Center you can see the shuttle external fuel
tank and booster rockets on the pad (no shuttle though).

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mthoms
Does anyone know of published data indicating the rate of support for
advanced(ish) WebGL like this among everyday consumers?

I realize it's a bit of a vague question but would be grateful if anyone had
some insight.

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mrmrben
[http://webglstats.com/](http://webglstats.com/) is great.

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mthoms
Wow, this is phenomenal.

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xufi
This would be cool for a tiny world globe project I have with longitude and
latitude . I wonder how I could make use of this

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brudgers
The demo link in the hero image didn't work for me, but the links to community
projects further down the page did.

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gnarbarian
This is awesome. I am going to try and hook this up to our geoserver instance
via WMS

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lttlrck
This is excellent.

Pinch and zoom doesn't seem to be quite right on iOS 10.

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leke
Didn't show in latest chrome

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PaulHoule
Crashed Browser Didn't Read

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maze-le
Same here, I think it has something to do with WebGL

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PaulHoule
One of the reasons why I fired my bizdev guy was that he didn't see there was
a problem with Linkurious not using their own product on their own web site.
(i.e. Linkurious uses WebGL)

