A scatter plot displayed in polar coordinates where data points are positioned using angle (theta) and radius (r) rather than Cartesian x and y coordinates. This visualization is particularly effective for cyclical or directional data where the angular component carries meaningful information.
#' anyplot.ai
#' polar-scatter: Polar Scatter Plot
#' Library: ggplot2 3.5.1 | R 4.4.1
#' Quality: 89/100 | Created: 2026-09-05
library(ggplot2)
library(scales)
library(ragg)
set.seed(42)
# --- Theme tokens ------------------------------------------------------------
THEME <- Sys.getenv("ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
PAGE_BG <- if (THEME == "light") "#FAF8F1" else "#1A1A17"
ELEVATED_BG <- if (THEME == "light") "#FFFDF6" else "#242420"
INK <- if (THEME == "light") "#1A1A17" else "#F0EFE8"
INK_SOFT <- if (THEME == "light") "#4A4A44" else "#B8B7B0"
IMPRINT_PALETTE <- c(
"#009E73", # 1 — brand green
"#C475FD", # 2 — lavender
"#4467A3", # 3 — blue
"#BD8233" # 4 — ochre
)
# --- Data: wind speed and direction observations by time of day -------------
periods <- c("Morning", "Afternoon", "Evening", "Night")
n_per <- c(40, 35, 35, 20)
dir_mean <- c(50, 210, 170, 300) # prevailing bearing per period, degrees
dir_sd <- c(20, 25, 30, 35)
speed_mean <- c(9, 15, 11, 6) # m/s
speed_sd <- c(2, 3, 2.5, 1.5)
n_total <- sum(n_per)
period <- factor(rep(periods, times = n_per), levels = periods)
theta <- (rnorm(n_total, rep(dir_mean, times = n_per), rep(dir_sd, times = n_per))) %% 360
wind_speed <- pmax(rnorm(n_total, rep(speed_mean, times = n_per), rep(speed_sd, times = n_per)), 0.5)
wind_obs <- tibble::tibble(theta = theta, wind_speed = wind_speed, period = period)
radius_max <- max(wind_obs$wind_speed) * 1.15
# --- Theme --------------------------------------------------------------------
grid_major <- scales::alpha(INK, 0.15)
grid_minor <- scales::alpha(INK, 0.08)
anyplot_theme <- theme_minimal(base_size = 8) +
theme(
plot.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = PAGE_BG),
panel.background = element_rect(fill = PAGE_BG, color = NA),
panel.grid.major = element_line(color = grid_major, linewidth = 0.3),
panel.grid.minor = element_line(color = grid_minor, linewidth = 0.15),
axis.ticks = element_blank(),
axis.title.x = element_blank(),
axis.title.y = element_text(color = INK, size = 10),
axis.text = element_text(color = INK_SOFT, size = 8),
axis.text.y = element_text(color = INK_SOFT, size = 8, margin = margin(r = 8)),
plot.title = element_text(color = INK, size = 12, face = "bold"),
plot.subtitle = element_text(color = INK_SOFT, size = 9),
legend.background = element_rect(fill = ELEVATED_BG, color = NA),
legend.text = element_text(color = INK_SOFT, size = 8),
legend.title = element_text(color = INK, size = 10)
)
# --- Plot ---------------------------------------------------------------------
p <- ggplot(wind_obs, aes(x = theta, y = wind_speed, fill = period)) +
geom_point(shape = 21, size = 3.0, stroke = 0.4, color = PAGE_BG, alpha = 0.75) +
scale_x_continuous(
limits = c(0, 360),
breaks = c(0, 90, 180, 270),
labels = c("0° N", "90° E", "180° S", "270° W"),
expand = c(0, 0)
) +
scale_y_continuous(
limits = c(0, radius_max),
expand = expansion(mult = c(0, 0.05))
) +
scale_fill_manual(values = IMPRINT_PALETTE, name = "Time of Day") +
coord_polar(theta = "x", start = 0, direction = 1) +
labs(
title = "Wind Observations · polar-scatter · r · ggplot2 · anyplot.ai",
subtitle = "Each time of day carries a distinct prevailing wind direction and speed band",
y = "Wind Speed (m/s)"
) +
anyplot_theme
# --- Save -----------------------------------------------------------------
ggsave(
filename = sprintf("plot-%s.png", THEME),
plot = p,
device = ragg::agg_png,
width = 6,
height = 6,
units = "in",
dpi = 400
)
Runnable source as JSON, for any HTTP client: https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/polar-scatter/ggplot2/code. Any spec id and library id listed in llms-full.txt fit the same URL shape; every URL below is complete and callable.
{
"spec_id": "polar-scatter",
"language": "r",
"library": "ggplot2",
"page": "https://anyplot.ai/polar-scatter/r/ggplot2",
"hub": "https://anyplot.ai/polar-scatter",
"code_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/polar-scatter/ggplot2/code",
"spec_json": "https://api.anyplot.ai/specs/polar-scatter",
"render_light_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/polar-scatter/r/ggplot2/plot-light.png",
"render_dark_png": "https://storage.googleapis.com/anyplot-images/plots/polar-scatter/r/ggplot2/plot-dark.png",
"quality_score": 89.0,
"license": "MIT",
"guide": "https://anyplot.ai/llms.txt"
}Part of Polar Scatter Plot on anyplot.ai.