THOR Data Viewer

The THOR data viewer is a tool for displaying the standard data products of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). THOR stands for Tool for High-resolution Observation Review. THOR displays GPM and TRMM products on a map of the Earth when possible, and otherwise, as 2D plots or text output. Since 1997, the Precipitation Processing System (PPS) at NASA Goddard has developed and distributed the THOR data viewer, which was previously known as the Orbit Viewer.

Downloading and Installing

THOR can be downloaded from PPS at the following URL: https://gpmweb2https.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov/pub/THOR/. Download the zip file appropriate for your operating system: Linux, Windows, or MacOS. After you download the zip file, unzip this file. Under Windows, right click and select "Extract All." Under MacOS, unzip the file by double clicking on it in the Finder. On a Linux system, unzip the file using "unzip -qq *.zip" on the Linux command line.

Once the file is uncompressed, read the "tutorial.pdf" document for installation instructions specific to your computer's operating system. If you have questions about THOR, contact the PPS Helpdesk at: helpdesk@mail.pps.eosdis.nasa.gov. THOR was developed by NASA, and any use should be acknowledged. The viewer is written primarily in the IDL language, which is manufactured by NV5 Geospatial.

THOR main window
The main window of THOR

THOR Download Links

Redhat Linux version: THOR_2.3_linux.zip

MacOS version: THOR_2.3_macARMmSeries.zip

Windows version: THOR_2.3_win.zip

Installation and Usage Instructions: tutorial.pdf


List of THOR Versions

Version

Description

2.3.001

Improved display of DPR products. Enhanced support for large and small monitors. Built with IDL9.1. (2025/03)

2.2.013

Updated for Version 7 GPM products. (2022/05)

2.2.008

Fixed bug for running on Mac OS X. (2017/03)

2.2.003

Minor bug fixes for viewing TRMM products. (2015/02)

2.2.001

Fixed bugs for running on Mac OS X and for viewing IMERG.� THOR is now built with IDL 8.3.
(2015/01)

2.1.011

Corrected bugs affecting prototype GPM products. (2013/02)

2.0 .022

Fixed bugs and updated code for TRMM Version 7 products. (2011/06)

2.0 .019

Fixed bugs with the display of the 3G68 product and with launching THOR on a Windows XP system. (2010/06)

2.0 .018

Minor bug fixes. Modifications to prepare for PPS Build 2. (2010/06)

2.0 .015

Updated with IDL version 7.1.1 so that THOR will, in the future, be able to read HDF5 version 1.8 files. (2010/03)

2.0 .014

Minor bug fixes to accommodate TRMM version 7 reprocessing. (2010/03)

2.0 .013

Minor bug fixes to the June, 2009, release. (2009/11)

2.0 .012

Displays prototypes of TRMM Product Version 7 files. Introduction of the THOR name and the new look of the graphical user interface. (2009/06)

1.3.6

Updated with IDL version 7.0 so that the Orbit Viewer can run under the latest versions of Linux and Mac OS X. (2008/07)

1.3.5

Runs under Mac OS X. Built with IDL version 6.1. (2005/06)

1.3

Updated for TRMM Product Version 6. Built with IDL version 5.3. (2003/05)

1.2

Can display the merged products: 3B40RT, 3B41RT, and 3B42RT. (2002/04)

1.1

A generic display tool is added. (2001/06)

1.0

First Microsoft Windows version. First CD distribution. (2000/11)

0.9

All TRMM standard products can be displayed. (1998/05)

0.8

The Orbit Viewer can display level 1B satellite products. (1997/11)