Cesium.js is a Javascript library designed for visualizing geospatial data in 3D. It was developped by the same team that developped AGI's STK software. The library is free to use and is very rich in content.

Sandcastle is Cesium's IDE-in-a-webpage where people can test their code and visualize the results.

One of the recommended ways to use the library is to feed in czml files. A czml file is a json-like file (i.e. using key value notation) that can store any type of geospatial information, as wel as attributes to set some of the visualization settings.

To share those czml files and some simple Javascript code to consume it, those files would normally need to be served through a webpage, because Sandcastle is fully web-based and will not accept static import of files.

However, we can take advantage of a good feature in Cesium that allows to "drag-and-drop" czml files in Sandcastle, by first pasting some very basic sample code. I will try to give a quick list of instructions below, to visualize orbits around the Earth. Note that Cesium is best and most quickly used to view any data in 3D under, on, in, and above the Earth. I think it would not be a good candidate for Halo orbits, Earth-Moon orbits, or even Heliosynchronous orbits.

1. Visit the Sandcastle page
2. In the empty section titled "Javascript code", please paste the small code snippet below. This will allow the "drag-and-drop" functionality. Then, click the Run button towards the top left. The page will refresh, but no other noticeable changes will take place. The code however will be running at the background, waiting for a file to be dropped.

// Add basic drag and drop support and pop up an alert window on error.
var viewer = new Cesium.Viewer('cesiumContainer');
viewer.extend(Cesium.viewerDragDropMixin);
viewer.dropError.addEventListener(function(viewerArg, source, error) {
    window.alert('Error processing ' + source + ':' + error);
});

3. Now let's get a sample czml file. Please go to this Github webpage of Cesium and download (copy/paste) the contents of the showed file on your computer and name it with a .czml extension. The file can be opened then with any text editor.
4. Drag and drop the file that you downloaded on the Sandcastle window that shows the globe. The "viewer" of Cesium will consume the data in the file and will show you three satellites and their visibility access times visualized with line-of-sight lines.

I could provide more information if you would like more details. The problem of visualization is then pushed to learning the czml notation, and also how to share the czml. Sharing through github could be an option. Learning of Cesium is worth the time and effort if visualizations is a common task for you. There are many other Javascript libraries like Leaflet, Plotly, HighCharts, and so much more. I find that Cesium might offer the ease of use for sharability, with minimal knowledge for coding, to get started. It can eventually get really complex, for more complex visualizations.

I hope this is helpful! Manny

Cesium.js is a Javascript library designed for visualizing dynamic geospatial data in 3D. It was developped by the same team that developped AGI's STK software. The library is free to use and is very rich in content.

Sandcastle is Cesium's IDE-in-a-webpage where people can test their code and visualize the results.

One of the recommended ways to use the library is to feed in czml files. A czml file is a json-like file (i.e. using key value notation) that can store any type of geospatial information, as wel as attributes to set some of the visualization settings.

To share those czml files and some simple Javascript code to consume it, those files would normally need to be served through a webpage, because Sandcastle is fully web-based and will not accept static import of files.

However, we can take advantage of a good feature in Cesium that allows to "drag-and-drop" czml files in Sandcastle, by first pasting some very basic sample code. I will try to give a quick list of instructions below, to visualize orbits around the Earth. Note that Cesium is best and most quickly used to view any data in 3D under, on, in, and above the Earth. I think it would not be a good candidate for Halo orbits, Earth-Moon orbits, or even Heliosynchronous orbits.

1. Visit the Sandcastle page
2. In the empty section titled "Javascript code", please paste the small code snippet below. This will allow the "drag-and-drop" functionality. Then, click the Run button towards the top left. The page will refresh, but no other noticeable changes will take place. The code however will be running at the background, waiting for a file to be dropped.

// Add basic drag and drop support and pop up an alert window on error.
var viewer = new Cesium.Viewer('cesiumContainer');
viewer.extend(Cesium.viewerDragDropMixin);
viewer.dropError.addEventListener(function(viewerArg, source, error) {
    window.alert('Error processing ' + source + ':' + error);
});

3. Now let's get a sample czml file. Please go to this Github webpage of Cesium and download (copy/paste) the contents of the showed file on your computer and name it with a .czml extension. The file can be opened then with any text editor.
4. Drag and drop the file that you downloaded on the Sandcastle window that shows the globe. The "viewer" of Cesium will consume the data in the file and will show you three satellites and their visibility access times visualized with line-of-sight lines.

I could provide more information if you would like more details. The problem of visualization is then pushed to learning the czml notation, and also how to share the czml. Sharing through github could be an option. Learning of Cesium is worth the time and effort if visualizations is a common task for you. There are many other Javascript libraries like Leaflet, Plotly, HighCharts, and so much more. I find that Cesium might offer the ease of use for sharability, with minimal knowledge for coding, to get started. It can eventually get really complex, for more complex visualizations.

I hope this is helpful! Manny

Cesium.js is a Javascript library designed for visualizing geospatial data in 3D. It was developped by the same team that developped AGI's STK software. The library is free to use and is very rich in content.

Sandcastle is Cesium's IDE-in-a-webpage where people can test their code and visualize the results.

One of the recommended ways to use the library is to feed in czml files. A czml file is a json-like file (i.e. using key value notation) that can store any type of geospatial information, as wel as attributes to set some of the visualization settings.

To share those czml files and some simple Javascript code to consume it, those files would normally need to be served through a webpage, because Sandcastle is fully web-based and will not accept static import of files.

However, we can take advantage of a good feature in Cesium that allows to "drag-and-drop" czml files in Sandcastle, by first pasting some very basic sample code. I will try to give a quick list of instructions below, to visualize orbits around the Earth. Note that Cesium is best and most quickly used to view any data in 3D under, on, in, and above the Earth. I think it would not be a good candidate for Halo orbits, Earth-Moon orbits, or even Heliosynchronous orbits.

1. Visit the Sandcastle page
2. In the empty section titled "Javascript code", please paste the small code snippet below. This will allow the "drag-and-drop" functionality.

// Add basic drag and drop support and pop up an alert window on error.
var viewer = new Cesium.Viewer('cesiumContainer');
viewer.extend(Cesium.viewerDragDropMixin);
viewer.dropError.addEventListener(function(viewerArg, source, error) {
    window.alert('Error processing ' + source + ':' + error);
});

3. Now let's get a sample czml file. Please go to this Github webpage of Cesium and download (copy/paste) the contents of the showed file on your computer and name it with a .czml extension. The file can be opened then with any text editor.
4. Drag and drop the file that you downloaded on the Sandcastle window that shows the globe. The "viewer" of Cesium will consume the data in the file and will show you three satellites and their visibility access times visualized with line-of-sight lines.

I could provide more information if you would like more details. The problem of visualization is then pushed to learning the czml notation, and also how to share the czml. Sharing through github could be an option. Learning of Cesium is worth the time and effort if visualizations is a common task for you. There are many other Javascript libraries like Leaflet, Plotly, HighCharts, and so much more. I find that Cesium might offer the ease of use for sharability, with minimal knowledge for coding, to get started. It can eventually get really complex, for more complex visualizations.

I hope this is helpful! Manny

Cesium.js is a Javascript library designed for visualizing geospatial data in 3D. It was developped by the same team that developped AGI's STK software. The library is free to use and is very rich in content.

Sandcastle is Cesium's IDE-in-a-webpage where people can test their code and visualize the results.

One of the recommended ways to use the library is to feed in czml files. A czml file is a json-like file (i.e. using key value notation) that can store any type of geospatial information, as wel as attributes to set some of the visualization settings.

To share those czml files and some simple Javascript code to consume it, those files would normally need to be served through a webpage, because Sandcastle is fully web-based and will not accept static import of files.

However, we can take advantage of a good feature in Cesium that allows to "drag-and-drop" czml files in Sandcastle, by first pasting some very basic sample code. I will try to give a quick list of instructions below, to visualize orbits around the Earth. Note that Cesium is best and most quickly used to view any data in 3D under, on, in, and above the Earth. I think it would not be a good candidate for Halo orbits, Earth-Moon orbits, or even Heliosynchronous orbits.

1. Visit the Sandcastle page
2. In the empty section titled "Javascript code", please paste the small code snippet below. This will allow the "drag-and-drop" functionality. Then, click the Run button towards the top left. The page will refresh, but no other noticeable changes will take place. The code however will be running at the background, waiting for a file to be dropped.

// Add basic drag and drop support and pop up an alert window on error.
var viewer = new Cesium.Viewer('cesiumContainer');
viewer.extend(Cesium.viewerDragDropMixin);
viewer.dropError.addEventListener(function(viewerArg, source, error) {
    window.alert('Error processing ' + source + ':' + error);
});

3. Now let's get a sample czml file. Please go to this Github webpage of Cesium and download (copy/paste) the contents of the showed file on your computer and name it with a .czml extension. The file can be opened then with any text editor.
4. Drag and drop the file that you downloaded on the Sandcastle window that shows the globe. The "viewer" of Cesium will consume the data in the file and will show you three satellites and their visibility access times visualized with line-of-sight lines.

I could provide more information if you would like more details. The problem of visualization is then pushed to learning the czml notation, and also how to share the czml. Sharing through github could be an option. Learning of Cesium is worth the time and effort if visualizations is a common task for you. There are many other Javascript libraries like Leaflet, Plotly, HighCharts, and so much more. I find that Cesium might offer the ease of use for sharability, with minimal knowledge for coding, to get started. It can eventually get really complex, for more complex visualizations.

I hope this is helpful! Manny