GLOBE Observer App Status

30 September 2024: Update in the Play Store

This update provides a new version of GLOBE Observer for Android devices. (A new version of the updated code was provided on 04 October 2024, correcting an error that photos from some users were not being sent properly to the database. Android users should make sure they have downloaded this important update.)

15 August 2024: Update via the app

This update (12.6 MB) includes a fix for a bug that was not allowing users to select check-boxes when setting up satellite overpass notifications, among other minor updates.

20 June 2024: Update via the app

This update (36.9 MB) includes a new achievement notification on the app home screen, continued accessibility improvements across the app, updates to help desk email addresses, and various bug fixes. For trained users using the Data Entry portion of GLOBE Observer, it also includes a new site creation process and an expanded list of tree genus/species options for biometry data collection.

27 March 2024: Update via the app

A small update (2 MB) to fix a problem with iOS 17.4.1 that was blocking website links (such as the page to create a new account and the My Observations page) from opening. NOTE: As a result of this iOS update, it is not possible to make the connection to a SciStarter account on the latest iOS versions. The option is still available on the settings page in the GLOBE Observer app for iPhones running previous versions of iOS and on Android phones. The app development team is working on a fix for this issue, which will be released at a later date.

21 March 2024: Update via the app

This update (17.7 MB) releases the Eclipse tool in practice mode for users experiencing any level of partial or total eclipse (the region represented by this GeoJSON polygon). During practice mode, air temperature data can be collected and graphed, but will not be sent to the GLOBE database. (Clouds, Land Cover and the other tools operate normally, with data going to the database as usual.) On 01 April, the tool will switch to live mode, allowing people to record air temperature measurements that are submitted to the database, which will continue through the eclipse on 08 April. On 09 April, the Eclipse tool will switch to review mode, allowing users to view their eclipse day data and graph, but no longer collect new air temperature measurements. The Eclipse tool will automatically be removed from the GLOBE Observer home screen on 08 May.

06 March 2024: Update via the app

Items in this update (35.8 MB):

• The new My Achievements button on the GLOBE Observer app home page
• The new My Achievements section that includes achievements for all applicable Data Entry protocols and Observer tools with displays of the user’s streaks and milestone badges including progress towards the next milestone (users will receive email notifications when awarded new milestone badges)
• Updated GLOBE Observer tool home pages that now gives details of your current and longest streaks
• Several minor bug fixes

22 December 2023: Update via the app

Items in this update (20 MB):

• A special feature photo option in the Land Cover tool. The new capability allows users to capture up to four extra photos in addition the cardinal direction and up/down photos. The option appears on the Field Notes page, and is especially intended to capture unique features such as erosion, river ice, the coastline, etc. that may not happen to fall in the field of view of one of the regular photos. Descriptive comments in the field notes or as captions on the special photos are always encouraged, but especially when a special feature is seen.
• New Swahili translations and updates to the German translation
• New leaf color selector for the greenings protocols (available to trained users in the Biosphere Data Entry module)
• Other minor bug fixes

22-24 September 2023: Website down for maintenance

The GLOBE website and database will be down for necessary maintenance. During this time, the GLOBE and GLOBE Observer website will be unavailable, and data will not be able to be sent in to the database. Users should store data in the GLOBE Observer app and send it after the maintenance is complete. UPDATE: Planned maintenance is complete and database and website are back to normal operation.

25 June 2023: Updates to account types

The GLOBE Program has implemented changes to the account structure for users, which will affect users of the GLOBE Observer app in these ways:

• A new account creation system that walks users through the steps to becoming a GLOBE Educator or a GLOBE Observer
• New account types that better support new categories for the GLOBE community (see a comparison of the capabilities of the different account types)
• Improved support for new users with a roadmap feature and Tutorial Center
• A simpler email authentication which allows user to enter their own passwords

04 May 2023: Google Play app availability issue on latest Android OS 14

Due to a change by Google in the requirements for all apps that went into effect ahead of the schedule communicated by them for implementation later this year, the GLOBE Observer app cannot currently be downloaded for the most recent version of Android OS. Users attempting to download the app in Google Play will receive an error message that the app is unavailable. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. UPDATE 12 May 2023: A new version of the app has been released to resolve the issue, and download for all versions of Android OS is again available.

15 February 2023: Begin satellite matches to NOAA-20

Satellite overpass times for NOAA-20 were visible in the app for some time previous in preparation, but actual matching of GLOBE Clouds data to NOAA-20 satellite data (including sending of match emails) began in mid-February.

27 to 29 January 2023: Scheduled Satellite Overpass Outage 

Satellite matches and updated satellite overpass times will not be available 27 January through 29 January. Observers can preload up to two weeks of satellite overpass times in the app for their primary observing location by opening the overpass predictor in the Clouds tool before 27 January. Once satellite matching resumes, all data submitted during the downtime period will be processed and match emails will be sent out to observers.

20 December 2022: Update via the App

Items in this update (34.2 MB):

• Improvements for app use by those with visual impairments (Section 508 compliance)
• Moved the "My Observations" to the home page rather than being under individual protocol pages
• Fixed an error message that occurred when creating a GLOBE Team
• Miscellaneous text updates

22 July 2022: Update via the App

Items in this update (35.6 MB): Read the news article about this app update.

• The ability to set a screen name via the app, which will be visible on GLOBE Teams pages to showcase individual contributions while still preserving user privacy
• Capabilities needed for implementing artificial intelligence analysis tools for quicker approval of photos submitted through GLOBE Land Cover, GLOBE Trees, and GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper (this capability was made available for GLOBE Clouds in March)
• Updates to the My Observations page, including the ability to view data from all protocols, as well as the ability to filter observations by date
• For trained users, data entry for Hydrology protocols , joining the Atmosphere Data Entry modules

In addition, there are companion updates on the GLOBE website improving how trained GLOBE Teachers can create student accounts and track individual student student contributions.

29 March 2022: Update via the App

Items in this update (33.3 MB):

• Capabilities needed for implementing artificial intelligence analysis tools for quicker approval of photos submitted through GLOBE Clouds
• Improved error checking for latitude and longitude at unexpected coordinates (e.g. 0,0 and 90,90) as well as unlikely times (e.g. 00:00)
• Improved accessibility (508 compliance) for GLOBE Clouds
• A translation of the app into Hindi
• The ability to send out announcements to users of the app in a specific geographic region
• Improved processes for checking the associated organization for a user to reduce data submission errors
• Bug fixes and improvements for the Surface Temperature protocol (available to trained users in the Atmosphere Data Entry module)

17 November 2021: Update via the App

This update (15.4 MB) adds capability in the app for the upcoming localized data request feature (geofencing) as well as improved error messages and logging to help resolve issues. For example, if a photo doesn't get fully submitted because of a connection interruption, the user will now get a more detailed response indicating the photos weren't submitted.

28 August 2021: Planned Network Upgrade

NASA Langley Research Center will have a center-wide network update occurring on August 28 from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm EDT. During this time, satellite overpass schedules will be unavailable.

23 August 2021: Satellite Matching Issues

NASA GLOBE Clouds is experiencing issues with geostationary (GEO) satellite matching, beginning on 20 August, and which is impacting the satellite match emails being sent. This page will be updated when the problem is resolved.

10 August 2021: Update via the App

This update (11.4 MB) will set a notification for how to opt-in to GLOBE Observer News, remove the legacy screen for air temperature, barometric pressure and relative humidity from the Clouds tool (now available to trained and verified GLOBE Members via Atmosphere Data Entry in the app), and improve troubleshooting capabilities when data submission errors occur.

05 August 2021: Planned Server Outage - Satellite Matching

Scheduled server downtime to add disk drives to the system and expand storage space. The outage is expected to last from 9:00 – 3:00 EDT on 05 August. During this time, satellite overpass times will not be available and satellite match emails will not be sent. The backlog of satellite matches and emails is expected to be cleared on 06 August. 

30 July 2021: Update via the App

This update (15.1 MB) fixes a few bugs related to the app update from earlier in July and makes some primarily text changes in the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool.

12 July 2021: Update via the App

Items in this update (32.9 MB):

• A more visual key for the Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool
• Ability to connect the GLOBE Observer app to a SciStarter account and have GLOBE data submissions appear in your SciStarter dashboard
• For full GLOBE Members (and eTrained members in the U.S.), an Atmosphere Data Entry button will appear allowing data entry for aerosols, air temperature, barometric pressure, precipitation, relative humidity, surface temperature, water vapor, and wind in addition to the four GLOBE Observer tools.

Read more details in the news article about the update.

25 March 2021: Website Downtime - System Maintenance

The GLOBE and GLOBE Observer websites and data entry submission will be unavailable on March 25 due to system maintenance. Please record your data as usual, but you will not be able to send data on March 25. All functionality should be returned by March 26th.

15 January 2021: Update via the App

Items in this update (31 MB):

• Improvements in handling longer/translated text, especially in the Clouds Wizard
• Updates to Croatian translation
• Improved ability to take pictures in the Trees app when foreign language characters and text are present in the overlay
• Adding location accuracy to the data sent with Mosquito Habitat Mapper

07 December 2020: App Update for Eclipse Tool

An update to add the Eclipse tool to the app was released in preparation for the total solar eclipse that will pass across South America on 14 December 2020. The visibility of the tool will be geofenced to the general region of the eclipse, and will only be visible to users in the box bounded by latitude -70 to 3 and longitude -100 to -25. More information about eclipse observations can be found on the webpage for the Eclipse tool.

04 December 2020: Matching to Aqua and Terra Satellites Unavailable

Matching of clouds observations to Aqua and Terra satellite data stopped on 04 December, and the issue is being worked on by our team. Matching to geostationary (GEO) satellites is still available.

12 November - 16 November, 2020: GLOBE Website Upgrade/Data Submission Unavailable

The GLOBE website is getting an upgrade, and during the transition period, sign in to the site will be turned off and YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ADD DATA.
 
For the GLOBE Observer app, users will not be able to submit data within the app; however, users will still be able to make and store observations on the app to be uploaded to the site at a later time (after the upgrade is complete).

14 August 2020: Satellite Overpass Outage

From 5:00 pm EDT (21:00 UTC) to 10:00 EDT (02:00 UTC on August 15), the satellite overpass tool will not be available due to a planned network upgrade in the building where the system is location.

15 May 2020: Update via the app

A minor update with changes that include information in satellite overpass notifications about when the location was last set, and updates to the satellite match parameters for a ground observation.

16 April 2020: Update via the app

This update (36.7 MB) includes the new Clouds Wizard, as well as a handful of minor features and bug fixes including:

• A loading bar during app updates to track progress
• Information on the loading screen which reminds users they can make measurements offline
• Modifications to contrails reporting to support the difference between "zero contrails" and "no contrails measured"
• User ID added to the settings page
• Observation counts for Mosquito Habitat Mapper are modified to count only on submission of data

30 March, 2020: Satellite Matching Unavailable

Due to a systems issue on March 28th, satellite matching is not available and the subsequent match emails are not being sent. The outage is expected to last for several days while systems are restored. Once the systems come back online, the backlog of clouds observations taken during the downtime will be matched and emails sent out. Satellite overpass predictions were also affected, but that service has already been restored. UPDATE: System was restored on April 1st, and all pending match emails are expected to be sent by April 3rd.

21 February 2020: Update via the app

This update (17.8 MB) fixes an issue where the observation count for Clouds and Mosquito Habitat Mapper was no longer appearing on the landing screen for those tools, fixes an issue with the photo plugin that was causing issues on Android devices, and updates the social media links to point to the GLOBE Program accounts.

05 February 2020: Update via the app

This update (19 MB) revises the way data is submitted to GLOBE which will improve performance for users sending multiple observations. A second change will report the number of user mosquito observations from the GLOBE server rather than reading it from the user's device. This will more accurately reflect the total number of measurements made for users who have measurements across multiple devices. There are also minor bug fixes and text changes primarily focused on improving error messages and information for users.

28 January 2020: Brief interruption of satellite overpass information

Starting at about 2:30 pm EST, there will be a brief period during which satellite overpass information will not be available in the app. This should last no more than 30 minutes.

13 December 2019: Update via the app with minor fixes

This release includes 12 minor fixes and changes. Key items:

• Change the data submission process. Currently the system sends all measurements (text) data followed by all photos. This is changing to send photos immediately after each measurement. This will improve the ability to send data to GLOBE - if a connection drops in the middle of sending data, the system will continue from the last sent data point instead of restarting and sending all data again.
• Adding a "Try anyway" button for users who would like to try the automated direction photo taking (as used in clouds and land cover) even if our software does not think there is a magnetometer on the phone.  This will help a subset of people whose phones provide alternative ways to get directional information.
• Additional minor changes include removing Google Plus from the list of share options, changing text on some buttons to provide clearer directions and better offline support for counting submissions.

12 December - 20 December, 2019: Satellite match emails and overpass times unavailable

Because of building and server maintenance, satellite overpass times and satellite match emails will not be available December 12-20, 2019. The app will store two weeks of satellite overpasses. You can prepare for the outage by doing the following:

1. Open the app between December 6 and 11 
2. Open Clouds
3. Select "Check Satellite Flyovers"

Satellite matches made during the outage period will be sent once the servers are back online. 

11 October 2019: Version 3.0 in the App Store and Google Play

This version includes updates for key elements of the app including the camera controller, and improved error handling for devices which do not have a magnetometer.

11 October 2019: Latitude and longitude data

Effective September 15, 2019, the site location as defined by the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) and the true latitude and longitude of an observation made with the NASA GLOBE Observer mobile app are both returned by the GLOBE Advanced Data Access Tool (ADAT),GLOBE Visualization System (Vis), and GLOBE Application Programming Interface (API) in the downloaded dataset. GLOBE Observer data are impacted (i.e., observations made with the Observer app). Full details are available globe.gov/globe-data/globe-data-user-guide under User Guide Updates.

20 September 2019: Update via the app

A fairly substantial app update was released (19.5 MB). Many of the changes were behind the scenes and not apparent to users, such as a major rewrite of large sections of the code to bring it up to date. More noticeable changes to users include:

• Improved compass accuracy for users who previously experienced compass offsets (the compass in the app not indicating the correct direction).
• Simplified surface conditions input – users will be able to use previously entered surface condition values (standing water, leaves on trees, etc.) if a second measurement is near (15 minutes and 100m) a previous measurement.
• Improved error handling for users who do not have a compass/magnetometer in their phone.
• Improved error handling for users who are offline.
• Improved consistency in how each tool in the app handles the data submission and review process
• Additional translations for Dutch and Thai.
• Removed the button for the temporary Eclipse tool.