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“Try it out” with the Latest GLOBE Observer Update

2025-08-29

The August 2025 GLOBE Observer app update introduces two new features–practice mode and the ability to submit extra cloud photos–and adds new satellites to the overpass predictor.

Practice mode is a new feature that will make learning and practicing protocols easier. Practice mode allows someone to try out the GLOBE Observer app without setting up an account. You can practice collecting and submitting data for all protocols before taking training. While the app will act as it normally does during data collection and submission, practice data will not be saved or stored in the GLOBE database. Once you feel ready, you can switch out of practice mode to set up an account, take training and start collecting data. If you want more practice or want to test a different protocol, you can switch back into practice mode at any time. 

Practice mode will make it easier for educators or others to teach a group of people how to use the app, as learners won’t have to take time to set up an account. Practice mode also offers a way for individuals to gain confidence in taking observations without worry about submitting bad data. 

Three screenshots from the GLOBE Observer app. The first on the left shows the GLOBE Observer home screen. The center screenshot is of the settings screen, and the third shows the GLOBE Observer home screen in practice mode.

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Three screenshots from the GLOBE Observer app. The first on the left shows the home screen of the Trees tool in practice mode. The center screenshot shows the Trees data review and submission screen in practice mode. The third screenshot is of the GLOBE Observer settings screen showing an option to exit practice mode.

If you already have a GLOBE Observer account, you can switch into Practice Mode by clicking the settings icon, the gear-shaped icon in the lower right corner of the home screen. Then tap “Use Practice Mode.” An orange banner that reads “practice mode” will appear on the GLOBE Observer home screen, on the first screen of each tool, and on the data review and submission screen. To exit Practice Mode and return to regular data collection, tap the settings icon, then select “Exit Practice Mode.”  

Clouds Special Feature Photos

The app update also adds a new field to add extra photos in a GLOBE Clouds observation. If there is something of note in the sky, such as a dust storm or contrail, but it doesn’t appear in the directional photos, you can photograph it and upload the photo in the special feature field. Please use the captions to share information about the feature, including the direction you were facing when you took the photo. As with all photos submitted to GLOBE, special feature photos will be screened before entering the database.

Four screenshots of the GLOBE Observer app. The first shows the landing screen for the Clouds tool. The second shows the new option to take feature photos in the Clouds tool. The third screen shows a special feature photo of wildfire smoke, and the fourth shows a dust storm being entered as a special feature photo.

Finally, the app update adds Landsat 8 and 9 and the Sentinel 2 satellites to the overpass predictor under GLOBE Clouds. This update lays the groundwork for an exciting new ability to send collocated satellite images for all land cover observations submitted to GLOBE as we currently do for GLOBE Clouds data. In the near future, all GLOBE volunteers who submit land cover data will receive an email from NASA that includes links to Landsat and Sentinel 2 images taken within days of the GLOBE observation. If you collect data during a satellite overpass, you will receive the satellite image that matches the time and location of your observation perfectly. Additional details will be released soon. 

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A graphic showing silhouettes of two people taking observations with their phones. They are standing between water with mosquito larvae in it, grass, trees, and clouds, which represent the tools within the GLOBE Observer app.

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