three-globe

ThreeJS Globe Visualization

Largely inspired by WebGL Globe, this is a ThreeJS WebGL class to represent data visualization layers on a globe, using a spherical projection.

Check out the examples:

• Basic (source)
• Arc Links (source)
• Country Polygons (source)
• Path lines (source)
• Hexagonal Binning (source)
• Hexed Country Polygons (source)
• Tiles (source)
• Solar Terminator (source)
• Labels (source)
• Custom Globe Material (source)
• Custom Layer (source)

See also the standalone version.

Quick start

import ThreeGlobe from 'three-globe';

or

const ThreeGlobe = require('three-globe');

or even

<script src="//unpkg.com/three-globe"></script>

then

const myGlobe = new ThreeGlobe()
    .globeImageUrl(<imageUrl>)
    .pointsData(<myData>);

const myScene = new THREE.Scene();
myScene.add(myGlobe);

API reference

Initialisation

new ThreeGlobe({ configOptions })

Config options	Description	Default
waitForGlobeReady: boolean	Whether to wait until the globe wrapping image has been fully loaded before rendering the globe or any of the data layers.	true
animateIn: boolean	Whether to animate the globe initialization, by scaling and rotating the globe into its inital position.	true

Globe Layer

Method	Description	Default
globeImageUrl([url])	Getter/setter for the URL of the image used in the material that wraps the globe. If no image is provided, the globe is represented as a black sphere.	null
bumpImageUrl([url])	Getter/setter for the URL of the image used to create a bump map in the material, to represent the globe's terrain.	null
showGlobe([boolean])	Getter/setter for whether to show the globe surface itself.	true
showGraticules([boolean])	Getter/setter for whether to show a graticule grid demarking latitude and longitude lines at every 10 degrees.	false
showAtmosphere([boolean])	Getter/setter for whether to show a bright halo surrounding the globe, representing the atmosphere.	true
atmosphereColor([str])	Getter/setter for the color of the atmosphere.	lightskyblue
atmosphereAltitude([str])	Getter/setter for the max altitude of the atmosphere, in terms of globe radius units.	0.15
globeMaterial([material])	Getter/setter of the ThreeJS material used to wrap the globe. Can be used for more advanced styling of the globe, like in this example.	MeshPhongMaterial
onGlobeReady(fn)	Callback function to invoke immediately after the globe has been initialized and visible on the scene.	-

Points Layer

Method	Description	Default
pointsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of points to represent in the points map layer. Each point is displayed as a cylindrical 3D object rising perpendicularly from the surface of the globe.	[]
pointLat([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the cylinder's center latitude coordinate.	lat
pointLng([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the cylinder's center longitude coordinate.	lng
pointColor([str or fn])	Point object accessor function or attribute for the cylinder color.	() => '#ffffaa'
pointAltitude([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the cylinder's altitude in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude (flat circle), 1 = globe radius).	0.1
pointRadius([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the cylinder's radius, in angular degrees.	0.25
pointResolution([num])	Getter/setter for the radial geometric resolution of each cylinder, expressed in how many slice segments to divide the circumference. Higher values yield smoother cylinders.	12
pointsMerge([boolean])	Getter/setter for whether to merge all the point meshes into a single ThreeJS object, for improved rendering performance. Visually both options are equivalent, setting this option only affects the internal organization of the ThreeJS objects.	false
pointsTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate point changes involving geometry modifications. A value of 0 will move the objects immediately to their final position. New objects are animated by scaling them from the ground up. Only works if pointsMerge is disabled.	1000

Arcs Layer

Method	Description	Default
arcsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of links to represent in the arcs map layer. Each link is displayed as an arc line that rises from the surface of the globe, connecting the start and end coordinates.	[]
arcStartLat([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's start latitude coordinate.	startLat
arcStartLng([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's start longitude coordinate.	startLng
arcEndLat([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's end latitude coordinate.	endLat
arcEndLng([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's end longitude coordinate.	endLng
arcColor([str, [str, ...] or fn])	Arc object accessor function or attribute for the line's color. Also supports color gradients by passing an array of colors.	() => '#ffffaa'
arcAltitude([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the arc's maximum altitude (ocurring at the half-way distance between the two points) in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude (ground line), 1 = globe radius). If a value of null or undefined is used, the altitude is automatically set proportionally to the distance between the two points, according to the scale set in arcAltitudeAutoScale.	null
arcAltitudeAutoScale([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the scale of the arc's automatic altitude, in terms of units of the great-arc distance between the two points. A value of 1 indicates the arc should be as high as its length on the ground. Only applicable if arcAltitude is not set.	0.5
arcStroke([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's diameter, in angular degrees. A value of null or undefined will render a ThreeJS Line whose width is constant (1px) regardless of the camera distance. Otherwise, a TubeGeometry is used.	null
arcCurveResolution([num])	Getter/setter for the arc's curve resolution, expressed in how many straight line segments to divide the curve by. Higher values yield smoother curves.	64
arcCircularResolution([num])	Getter/setter for the radial geometric resolution of each line, expressed in how many slice segments to divide the tube's circumference. Only applicable when using Tube geometries (defined arcStroke).	6
arcDashLength([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the dashed segments in the arc, in terms of relative length of the whole line (1 = full line length).	1
arcDashGap([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the gap between dash segments, in terms of relative line length.	0
arcDashInitialGap([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the initial gap before the first dash segment, in terms of relative line length.	0
arcDashAnimateTime([num, str or fn])	Arc object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the time duration (in ms) to animate the motion of dash positions from the start to the end point for a full line length. A value of 0 disables the animation.	0
arcsTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate arc changes involving geometry modifications. A value of 0 will move the arcs immediately to their final position. New arcs are animated by rising them from the ground up.	1000

Polygons Layer

Method	Description	Default
polygonsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of polygon shapes to represent in the polygons map layer. Each polygon is displayed as a shaped cone that extrudes from the surface of the globe.	[]
polygonGeoJsonGeometry([str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function or attribute for the GeoJson geometry specification of the polygon's shape. The returned value should have a minimum of two fields: type and coordinates. Only GeoJson geometries of type Polygon or MultiPolygon are supported, other types will be skipped.	geometry
polygonCapColor([str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function or attribute for the color of the top surface.	() => '#ffffaa'
polygonCapMaterial([material, str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function, attribute or material object for the ThreeJS material to use in the top surface. This property takes precedence over polygonCapColor, which will be ignored if both are defined.	-
polygonSideColor([str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function or attribute for the color of the cone sides.	() => '#ffffaa'
polygonSideMaterial([material, str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function, attribute or material object for the ThreeJS material to use in the cone sides. This property takes precedence over polygonSideColor, which will be ignored if both are defined.	-
polygonStrokeColor([str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function or attribute for the color to stroke the polygon perimeter. A falsy value will disable the stroking.	-
polygonAltitude([num, str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the polygon cone's altitude in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude (flat polygon), 1 = globe radius).	0.01
polygonCapCurvatureResolution([num, str or fn])	Polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the resolution (in angular degrees) of the cap surface curvature. The finer the resolution, the more the polygon is fragmented into smaller faces to approximate the spheric surface, at the cost of performance.	5
polygonsTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate polygon altitude changes. A value of 0 will size the cone immediately to their final altitude. New polygons are animated by rising them from the ground up.	1000

Paths Layer

Method	Description	Default
pathsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of lines to represent in the paths map layer. Each path is displayed as a line that connects all the coordinate pairs in the path array.	[]
pathPoints([array, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or an array for the set of points that define the path line. By default, each path point is assumed to be a 2-position array ([<lat>, <lon>]). This default behavior can be modified using the pathPointLat and pathPointLng methods.	pnts => pnts
pathPointLat([num, str or fn])	Path point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the latitude coordinate.	arr => arr[0]
pathPointLng([num, str or fn])	Path point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the longitude coordinate.	arr => arr[1]
pathPointAlt([num, str or fn])	Path point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the point altitude, in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude (ground), 1 = globe radius).	0.001
pathResolution([num])	Getter/setter for the path's angular resolution, in lat/lng degrees. If the ground distance (excluding altitude) between two adjacent path points is larger than this value, the line segment will be interpolated in order to approximate the curvature of the sphere surface. Lower values yield more perfectly curved lines, at the cost of performance.	2
pathColor([str, [str, ...] or fn])	Path object accessor function or attribute for the line's color. Also supports color gradients by passing an array of colors. Transparent colors are not supported in Fat Lines with set width.	() => '#ffffaa'
pathStroke([num, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the line's diameter, in angular degrees. A value of null or undefined will render a ThreeJS Line whose width is constant (1px) regardless of the camera distance. Otherwise, a FatLine is used.	null
pathDashLength([num, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the dashed segments in the path line, in terms of relative length of the whole line (1 = full line length).	1
pathDashGap([num, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the gap between dash segments, in terms of relative line length.	0
pathDashInitialGap([num, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the length of the initial gap before the first dash segment, in terms of relative line length.	0
pathDashAnimateTime([num, str or fn])	Path object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the time duration (in ms) to animate the motion of dash positions from the start to the end point for a full line length. A value of 0 disables the animation.	0
pathTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate path changes. A value of 0 will move the paths immediately to their final position. New paths are animated from start to end.	1000

Hex Bin Layer

Method	Description	Default
hexBinPointsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of points to aggregate using the hex bin map layer. Each point is added to an hexagonal prism 3D object that represents all the points within a tesselated portion of the space.	[]
hexBinPointLat([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the latitude coordinate.	lat
hexBinPointLng([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the longitude coordinate.	lng
hexBinPointWeight([num, str or fn])	Point object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the weight of the point. Weights for points in the same bin are summed and determine the hexagon default altitude.	1
hexBinResolution([num])	The geographic binning resolution as defined by H3. Determines the area of the hexagons that tesselate the globe's surface. Accepts values between 0 and 15. Level 0 partitions the earth in 122 (mostly) hexagonal cells. Each subsequent level sub-divides the previous in roughly 7 hexagons.	4
hexMargin([num or fn])	The radial margin of each hexagon. Margins above 0 will create gaps between adjacent hexagons and serve only a visual purpose, as the data points within the margin still contribute to the hexagon's data. The margin is specified in terms of fraction of the hexagon's surface diameter. Values below 0 or above 1 are disadvised. This property also supports using an accessor method based on the hexagon's aggregated data, following the syntax: hexMargin(({ points, sumWeight, center: { lat, lng }}) => ...). This method should return a numeric constant.	0.2
hexAltitude([num or fn])	The altitude of each hexagon, in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude (flat hexagon), 1 = globe radius). This property also supports using an accessor method based on the hexagon's aggregated data, following the syntax: hexAltitude(({ points, sumWeight, center: { lat, lng }}) => ...). This method should return a numeric constant.	({ sumWeight }) => sumWeight * 0.01
hexTopCurvatureResolution([num])	The resolution (in angular degrees) of the top surface curvature. The finer the resolution, the more the top area is fragmented into smaller faces to approximate the spheric surface, at the cost of performance.	5
hexTopColor([fn])	Accessor method for each hexagon's top color. The method should follow the signature: hexTopColor(({ points, sumWeight, center: { lat, lng }}) => ...) and return a color string.	() => '#ffffaa'
hexSideColor([fn])	Accessor method for each hexagon's side color. The method should follow the signature: hexSideColor(({ points, sumWeight, center: { lat, lng }}) => ...) and return a color string.	() => '#ffffaa'
hexBinMerge([boolean])	Getter/setter for whether to merge all the hexagon meshes into a single ThreeJS object, for improved rendering performance. Visually both options are equivalent, setting this option only affects the internal organization of the ThreeJS objects.	false
hexTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate hexagon changes related to geometry modifications (altitude, radius). A value of 0 will move the hexagons immediately to their final position. New hexagons are animated by scaling them from the ground up. Only works if hexBinMerge is disabled.	1000

Hexed Polygons Layer

Method	Description	Default
hexPolygonsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of polygon shapes to represent in the hexed polygons map layer. Each polygon is displayed as a tesselated group of hexagons that approximate the polygons shape according to the resolution specified in hexPolygonResolution.	[]
hexPolygonGeoJsonGeometry([str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function or attribute for the GeoJson geometry specification of the polygon's shape. The returned value should have a minimum of two fields: type and coordinates. Only GeoJson geometries of type Polygon or MultiPolygon are supported, other types will be skipped.	geometry
hexPolygonColor([str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function or attribute for the color of each hexagon in the polygon.	() => '#ffffaa'
hexPolygonAltitude([num, str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the polygon's hexagons altitude in terms of globe radius units (0 = 0 altitude, 1 = globe radius).	0.001
hexPolygonResolution([num, str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the geographic binning resolution as defined by H3. Determines the area of the hexagons that tesselate the globe's surface. Accepts values between 0 and 15. Level 0 partitions the earth in 122 (mostly) hexagonal cells. Each subsequent level sub-divides the previous in roughly 7 hexagons.	3
hexPolygonMargin([num, str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the radial margin of each hexagon. Margins above 0 will create gaps between adjacent hexagons within a polygon. The margin is specified in terms of fraction of the hexagon's surface diameter. Values below 0 or above 1 are disadvised.	0.2
hexPolygonCurvatureResolution([num, str or fn])	Hexed polygon object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the resolution (in angular degrees) of each hexed polygon surface curvature. The finer the resolution, the more the polygon hexes are fragmented into smaller faces to approximate the spheric surface, at the cost of performance.	5
hexPolygonsTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate hexed polygons altitude and margin changes. A value of 0 will move the hexagons immediately to their final state. New hexed polygons are animated by sizing each hexagon from 0 radius.	0

Tiles Layer

Method	Description	Default
tilesData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of tiles to represent in the tiles map layer. Each tile is displayed as a spherical surface segment. The segments can be placed side-by-side for a tiled surface and each can be styled separately.	[]
tileLat([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the segment's centroid latitude coordinate.	lat
tileLng([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the segment's centroid longitude coordinate.	lng
tileAltitude([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the segment's altitude in terms of globe radius units.	0.01
tileWidth([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the segment's longitudinal width, in angular degrees.	1
tileHeight([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the segment's latitudinal height, in angular degrees.	1
tileUseGlobeProjection([boolean, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a boolean constant for whether to use the globe's projection to shape the segment to its relative tiled position (true), or break free from this projection and shape the segment as if it would be laying directly on the equatorial perimeter (false).	true
tileMaterial([material, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or material object for the ThreeJS material used to style the segment's surface.	() => new MeshLambertMaterial({ color: '#ffbb88' })
tileCurvatureResolution([num, str or fn])	Tile object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the resolution (in angular degrees) of the surface curvature. The finer the resolution, the more the tile geometry is fragmented into smaller faces to approximate the spheric surface, at the cost of performance.	5
tilesTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate tile changes involving geometry modifications. A value of 0 will move the tiles immediately to their final position. New tiles are animated by scaling them from the centroid outwards.	1000

Labels Layer

Method	Description	Default
labelsData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of label objects to represent in the labels map layer.	[]
labelLat([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the latitude coordinate.	lat
labelLng([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the longitude coordinate.	lng
labelText([str or fn])	Label object accessor function or attribute for the label text.	text
labelColor([str or fn])	Label object accessor function or attribute for the label color.	() => 'lightgrey'
labelAltitude([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the label altitude in terms of globe radius units.	0
labelSize([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the label text height, in angular degrees.	0.5
labelTypeFace([typeface ])	Getter/setter for the text font typeface JSON object. Supports any typeface font generated by Facetype.js.	helvetiker regular
labelRotation([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the label rotation in degrees. The rotation is performed clockwise along the axis of its latitude parallel plane.	0
labelResolution([num])	Getter/setter for the text geometric resolution of each label, expressed in how many segments to use in the text curves. Higher values yield smoother labels.	3
labelIncludeDot([boolean, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a boolean constant for whether to include a dot marker next to the text indicating the exact lat, lng coordinates of the label. If enabled the text will be rendered offset from the dot.	true
labelDotRadius([num, str or fn])	Label object accessor function, attribute or a numeric constant for the radius of the dot marker, in angular degrees.	0.1
labelDotOrientation([str or fn])	Label object accessor function or attribute for the orientation of the label if the dot marker is present. Possible values are right, top and bottom.	() => 'bottom'
labelsTransitionDuration([num])	Getter/setter for duration (ms) of the transition to animate label changes involving position modifications (lat, lng, altitude, rotation). A value of 0 will move the labels immediately to their final position. New labels are animated by scaling their size.	1000

Custom Layer

Method	Description	Default
customLayerData([array])	Getter/setter for the list of items to represent in the custom map layer. Each item is rendered according to the customThreeObject method.	[]
customThreeObject([Object3d, str or fn])	Object accessor function or attribute for generating a custom 3d object to render as part of the custom map layer. Should return an instance of ThreeJS Object3d. The callback method's signature includes the object's data as well as the globe radius: customThreeObject((objData, globeRadius) => { ... }).	null
customThreeObjectUpdate([str or fn])	Object accessor function or attribute for updating an existing custom 3d object with new data. This can be used for performance improvement on data updates as the objects don't need to be removed and recreated at each update. The callback method's signature includes the object to be update, its new data and the globe radius: customThreeObjectUpdate((obj, objData, globeRadius) => { ... }).	null

Utility

Method	Description
getCoords(lat, lng [,altitude])	Utility method to translate spherical coordinates. Given a pair of latitude/longitude coordinates and optionally altitude (in terms of globe radius units), returns the equivalent {x, y, z} cartesian spatial coordinates.
toGeoCoords({ x, y, z })	Utility method to translate cartesian coordinates to the geographic domain. Given a set of 3D cartesian coordinates {x, y, z}, returns the equivalent {lat, lng, altitude} spherical coordinates. Altitude is defined in terms of globe radius units.

Render Options

Method	Description	Default
rendererSize(Vector2)	It's recommended to inject the current renderer size to ensure the object proportions remain constant. This is specially necessary when using path FatLines.	Fallback to the full browser window size (THREE.Vector2(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight))

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