Generate a heatmap around the Earth

Hello everyone,

The problem I have is that I would like to create a graph like the one shown in the attached image. Basically, I would like to plot the Earth and around it a heatmap based on some tabular data output from an external software. In the table I have the spatial density of the debris around the Earth as a function of declination, right ascension and altitude with respect to the center of the Earth.

I wanted to ask if you knew of any commands that can help me with my goal so I can read the associated documentation and figure out how to proceed.

Thank you very much.

Answer 1

[Tushar]

Hi Marcello,

I understand that you are interested in creating a 3D plot of the Earth accompanied by heatmap data.

The Mapping Toolbox in MATLAB is a powerful tool for working with geographic and spatial data, providing the capability to visualize data on the Earth's surface in a 3D globe representation. It offers a comprehensive workflow for managing geographic data. For more information, refer to the below documentation:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/map/index.html?s_tid=CRUX_lftnav

To help you achieve your goal, consider utilizing the following commands/functions:

• geoglobe - This function allows you to create a geographical globe as demonstrated below:

• geoplot3 - Use this function to plot data on the geographical globe, such as overlaying heatmap data onto the 3D Earth model.

For more information, refer to the below mentioned documentations:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/map/globe-display.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/map/ref/geoplot3.html

I hope this information proves to be useful.