drag to orbit · scroll or drag the scale on the right to zoom from a planet out to the whole universe · tap anything to fly there · press / to search
controls
Every frame is drawn only with printable ASCII characters. Denser glyphs mean more light; colour comes from the physics (blackbody temperature, Doppler shift, emission lines).
drag
orbit the camera
scroll / pinch / + -
zoom, all the way from a moon to the observable universe
scale ladder (right)
drag the marker to zoom; let go near a name, or click one, to travel there (on a phone: tap the scale chip at the top right)
ruler (top left)
at the distance of the object you are looking at, the bar's length equals the distance written beside it
click or tap
fly to an object and lock onto it
/ or the search box
search everything in the atlas; arrow keys and Enter pick a result
right-drag / shift-drag
pan (unlocks the camera)
[ ] or ‹ › (top right)
on a tour: previous / next stop; otherwise down / up the scale bar (Moon, Earth, Jupiter, the Sun, ...)
‹ › beside the name
previous / next camera angle of the object in view
W A S D · R F
fly freely
space · ❚❚ / ▶︎
pause or play: the tour, or the angles of an object you picked (they loop until you take the camera)
esc
close panels, then unlock (free camera)
V · Y · T
detail · travel speed · time speed
G · L · M
glow · labels · music
Z · P
screensaver · photo mode
I
info panel: full, compact or hidden
ship · ride · C
ship shows where the Halo is; ride follows it from behind (scroll to move nearer or further); C switches between the chase view and the cockpit
idle
the interface fades after a few seconds (sooner during a tour); move the mouse or tap to bring it back
Everything sits at its real position and real size: the planets where they are today, 1,982 naked-eye stars at their measured distances, the Milky Way, its neighbours and the cosmic web out to the edge of the observable universe. Brightness is compressed so faint things stay visible, stars twinkle gently for life, and fast processes (orbits, explosions, mergers) are sped up. The few objects too small to see next to their surroundings (a quasar's engine, a kilonova) are drawn magnified, and the ruler shows their true size. The music is generated in your browser as you listen. The Halo, a long-range cruiser that wanders between wonders, is the one invented thing here. The Sun is drawn warm yellow-orange, like a filtered solar photo; from space its light is white.
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