View 10GB .bin picture (in Matlab?)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around viewing a large .bin file generated from a NASA Blue Marble topographical image of Earth, which is over 10GB in size after decompression. Participants explore various methods and software options for opening and visualizing this file, including MATLAB, Photoshop, GIMP, and other tools.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses difficulty in viewing the .bin file in MATLAB due to memory limitations of their computer.
  • Another suggests using Photoshop CS2 to open the file as a Photoshop Raw image, indicating specific steps to do so.
  • A different participant proposes using GIMP as an alternative for opening raw files, noting it is a free software option.
  • One participant questions the format and resolution of the original 2.4GB picture file, indicating a lack of familiarity with MATLAB.
  • Another participant mentions discovering NASA World Wind software as a potential solution for viewing the data, highlighting its offline capabilities and additional features.
  • There is a discussion about the nature of .bin files, with conflicting views on whether they are executable files or image files, and the necessity of accompanying .cue files.
  • One participant shares their experience of attempting to mount the .bin file as a virtual disc but encountering format issues, speculating that it may contain raw data.
  • Another participant requests a link to the file for further investigation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best method to view the .bin file, with multiple competing views and suggestions remaining unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the file format and resolution, as well as the technical requirements for viewing the large .bin file. There are also limitations related to the hardware capabilities of some participants.

Antimatter
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So I downloaded a NASA Blue Marble topografical image of Earth (2.4GB when I downed it, I decompressed and... wtf, 10GB+). Now I have no idea how to view the resulting .bin picture. I tried to somehow import the data to Matlab, because I heard that program can somehow do the trick, but it went 'hahaha, you seriously think this comp has enough memory?' or something (512 RAM, plenty of HD space).
Searched the net for hours, still nothing.
Maybe one of you has experience in the matter. Thx already for eventual replies.
 
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This might help : http://digg.com/technology/NASA_embraces_bittorrent_-_download_a_2.9GB_(single)_picture_today_

Specifically this bit :

Ok. I finished downloading it and am in the process of extracting it from the gzip file.

Man. How am I supposed to open a .bin file as an image?
[reply]
by noonebutme on 1/27/06
+ 0 diggs
To view the file, open Photoshop CS2 (Older versions won't work) and hit ctrl + shift + alt + o and open it as a Photoshop Raw image. Use the default settings and it'll open eventually.
 
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If you don't have PS, you can always try the GIMP, according to the File Menu it can open raw files too.

The GIMP is a free download.
 
I may come out as a fool here and forgive me for being so very ignorant, but am I reading this correctly - a 2.4 GB picture file? What format is this file in? And what resolution? PS I don't know a anything about MATLAB (u must have probably guessed that by now)
 
Thank you for your efforts, none of the proposed solutions seemed to do it, I'm affraid.
My search has lead me to some amazing software, NASA World Wind (check it out at www.worldwindcentral.com ), it's kinda like Google Earth, but you can download serious cache packs for offline availability. And the plugins are yummie (like they have data for other planets and stuff, or you can have links to the CIA fact files from every country pop up, too much to mention).

Indeed man, a 2.4GB picture (.gz compressed, I understand that to be some super-zip or something) decompressed it is 86400 (pixels longitude) x 43200 (pxls lat.) x 24 bit colour depth amounting to over 10GB providing a picture of the world with just under 500m resolution. To get it, do a search for NASA Blue Marble, I suspect that will lead you the way.

Still no luck viewing it :frown:
 
.bin is an executable file, from what I know. Gotta ./ it
 
.bin is a image file (CD DVD images that is) also...
 
That's right too, but doesn't image .bin need also another file .cue to work?
 
AFAIK no it doesnt, the cue will tell you where the tracks are on a CD for example but if it is just data u don't need it, the .bin holds the data the .cue contains track layout info
 
  • #10
I tried it a while ago, mounted it as a virtual disc (with deamon tools) (had to convert it to some other format first, that went ok). But when I clicked the drive... 'format not supported'
I'll try renaming it to .exe (or ./ lol) but I'm not getting my hopes up with that, as it has a filesize that matches the # of pixels x colour depth, matches it to the byte; so I'm guessing it's raw data, with nothing else.
I'd better wait a couple of years, till they have computers (that I can afford) with 16GB of RAM.
 
  • #11
by ./ I meant you got to execute it, either by linux emulator or on any linux/or like systems.

Antimatter, can you please post a links of a website with that file you've downloaded? I think that'd do half a job.
 
  • #12
http://veimages.gsfc.nasa.gov//7100/world.topo.bathy.200401.3x21600x21600.panels.png.tar.torrent

BitTorrent Feed
~ 5 hr, with broadband
~ 104 hr, via 56k modem
 
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