Interchanging Interactive 3D Graphics for Astronomy1

Abstract: We demonstrate how interactive, three-dimensional (3D) scientific visualizations can be efficiently interchanged between a variety of mediums. Through the use of an appropriate interchange format, and a unified interaction interface, we minimize the effort to produce visualizations appropriate for undertaking knowledge discovery at the astronomer’s desktop, as part of conference presentations, in digital publications or as Web content. We use examples from cosmological visualization to address some of the issues of interchange and to describe our approach to adapting s2plot desktop visualizations to the Web2