science

Terrafly

Terrafly is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Terrafly rather than just read about it. In short: TerraFly is a web-enabled system designed to aid in the visualization of spatial and remote sensed imagery. TerraFly users visualize aerial photography, satellite imagery and various overlays, such as street names, roads, restaurants, services and demographic data.

Key takeaways

Terrafly belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Terrafly to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Terrafly from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TerraFly is a web-enabled system designed to aid in the visualization of spatial and remote sensed imagery. TerraFly users visualize aerial photography, satellite imagery and various overlays, such as street names, roads, restaurants, services and demographic data. Users virtually "fly" over imagery via a web browser, without any software to install or plug in. Terrafly's tools include geospatial querying, data drill-down, interfaces with real-time data suppliers, demographic analysis, annotation, route dissemination via autopilots, customizable applications, production of aerial atlases and application programming interface (API) for web sites.

Media coverage The TerraFly project has been featured on TV news programs and worldwide press. It has been covered by the New York Times, USA Today, NPR, as well as Science and Nature journals. FOX News screened in July 2007 a worldwide broadcast on TerraFly assisting exiles in tracking their homeland property.

External links TerraFly Summary, NASA

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Terrafly

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Terrafly claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Terrafly before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Terrafly ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Terrafly

In research: Terrafly appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Terrafly in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Terrafly is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Atlases, Virtual globes, Virtual reality, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Terrafly outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Terrafly in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Terrafly means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Terrafly out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Terrafly in simple terms?

Why does Terrafly matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Terrafly?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Terrafly.