Earth

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

two fingers

on a touch screen: pinch to zoom; slide both fingers to move the object across the screen (the camera stays on it); double-tap the sky to centre it again

/ or the search box

search everything in the atlas; arrow keys and Enter pick a result

right-drag / shift-drag

pan: the camera lets go of the object (free camera); play, space or the "back to" pill flies back to it

next stop · Moon ›

the green button beside the name: on a tour, fly on to the next stop ("start again" on the last one); after you leave a tour, "back to the tour" picks it up where you left it

GRAND TOUR ▾

the tour's name above the object's name opens the list of tours

[ ]

on a tour: previous / next stop; otherwise down / up the scale bar (Moon, Earth, Jupiter, the Sun, ...)

‹ angle 1/5 ›

the arrows on the angle line: previous / next camera angle of the object in view (every tap moves one angle)

W A S D · R F

fly freely, within reach of the nearest object (scroll out to go further)

space · ❚❚ / ▶︎

pause or play: the tour, or the angles of an object you picked (they loop until you take the camera); in free camera, back to the object you left

H · Home · ⌂ home · the logo

home: fly back to Earth; a running tour pauses and "back to the tour" picks it up again

esc

close what is open first (help, search, the atlas, tours, time, settings, photo mode); with nothing open, let go of the object (free camera)

V · Y · T

detail · travel speed · time speed

G · L

glow · labels

Z · P

screensaver · photo mode

I

info panel: full, compact or hidden

?

this help (? or esc closes it)

ship · ride · C

ship shows where the Saucer 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 Saucer, a flying saucer with a little green pilot who 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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