Explore

Bring the universe closer.

Solarterium is envisioned as a sky you can travel through. Choose where to begin — close to home, or as far out as you like.

Solar System

Start close to home.

  • The Sun in extreme ultraviolet light from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

    The Sun

    Our star

    Image: NASA/SDO and the AIA science team · 304 Å extreme ultraviolet

  • The whole Earth photographed by the Apollo 17 crew

    Earth

    The blue marble

    Image: NASA · Apollo 17 crew

  • The full Moon from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data

    The Moon

    Craters and maria

    Image: NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio · LRO data

  • Viking orbiter mosaic of Mars

    Mars

    The red planet

    Image: NASA/JPL/USGS · Viking Orbiter mosaic

  • Cassini photograph of Jupiter

    Jupiter

    King of the planets

    Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · Cassini

  • Cassini photograph of Saturn and its rings

    Saturn

    Rings and moons

    Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · Cassini, PIA06193

Stars

Points of light, each a sun.

  • Nearby stars

    Our stellar neighbours

  • The Sun from the Solar Dynamics Observatory

    Our Sun

    The star we know best

    Image: NASA/SDO and the AIA science team · 304 Å extreme ultraviolet

Nebulae

Where stars begin, and how some end.

  • Webb’s view of the Cosmic Cliffs in the Carina Nebula

    Stellar nurseries

    Clouds of gas and dust

    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · Webb, Carina Nebula

  • Webb’s view of the Southern Ring Nebula

    Glowing shells

    The afterglow of stars

    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · Webb, Southern Ring Nebula

Galaxies

Islands of stars.

  • The centre of the Milky Way from Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra

    The Milky Way

    Home galaxy

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/STScI · Galactic centre, Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra

  • The Andromeda galaxy in ultraviolet light from GALEX

    Andromeda

    Our large neighbour

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech · GALEX ultraviolet view of Andromeda

  • Webb’s First Deep Field

    Distant galaxies

    Deeper still

    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · Webb’s First Deep Field

Constellations

The stories people drew between the stars.

  • Orion

    The hunter

Deep Sky

Faint, far and extraordinary.

  • Webb’s First Deep Field

    The deep universe

    Beyond our galaxy

    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · Webb’s First Deep Field

  • Dawn spacecraft view of the cratered asteroid Vesta

    Small worlds

    Asteroid Vesta

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA · Dawn, asteroid Vesta

From the Moon to the edge of what we know

Meet the neighbors.

  1. The whole Earth photographed by the Apollo 17 crew, Africa and Antarctica under swirling cloud

    01

    Home

    Earth

    Every journey starts here — 12,742 km across.

    Image: NASA · Apollo 17 crew

  2. The full Moon, visualized from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data

    02

    384,400 km

    The Moon

    Our closest companion, about a quarter of Earth’s width.

    Image: NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio · LRO data

  3. Viking orbiter mosaic of Mars and the Valles Marineris canyon system

    03

    1.5 AU from the Sun

    Mars

    A cold desert world, roughly half the size of Earth.

    Image: NASA/JPL/USGS · Viking Orbiter mosaic

  4. Cassini photograph of Jupiter’s banded clouds and the Great Red Spot

    04

    5.2 AU from the Sun

    Jupiter

    About eleven Earths would fit across it.

    Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · Cassini

  5. Cassini photograph of Saturn, its rings and the planet’s shadow falling across them

    05

    9.5 AU from the Sun

    Saturn

    Its bright rings span roughly 270,000 km.

    Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · Cassini, PIA06193

  6. Voyager 2 images of Uranus and Neptune side by side at true relative size

    06

    19 and 30 AU

    Uranus & Neptune

    The ice giants, at the far edge of the planets.

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech · Voyager 2 · composite, sizes to scale

  7. 07

    4.2 light-years

    Nearby stars

    Proxima Centauri is the nearest star beyond the Sun.

  8. The crowded centre of the Milky Way combined from Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra data

    08

    ~100,000 ly across

    The Milky Way

    Our galaxy, seen from the inside.

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/STScI · Galactic centre, Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra

  9. The Andromeda galaxy in ultraviolet light from NASA’s GALEX telescope

    09

    2.5 million ly

    Andromeda

    The nearest large galaxy to our own.

    Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech · GALEX ultraviolet view of Andromeda

  10. Webb’s First Deep Field, crowded with thousands of distant galaxies

    10

    Beyond

    The deep universe

    Galaxies beyond counting.

    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · Webb’s First Deep Field

  • Moon: 3,474 km across
  • Mercury: 4,879 km across
  • Mars: 6,779 km across
  • Venus: 12,104 km across
  • Earth: 12,742 km across
  • Neptune: 49,244 km across
  • Uranus: 50,724 km across
  • Saturn: 116,460 km across
  • Jupiter: 139,820 km across
Diameters to scale · distances are not

Signature interaction

Bring it closer.

Saturn

Saturn · Sky view

Concept
Choose an object

An exploration visualization: Solarterium is designed to move from an object’s place in the sky to a detailed rendering of it. It is not telescopic or optical magnification, and the imagery is not live.

Time & place

Another sky. Another time.

NORTH CELESTIAL POLE
Illustration · not a sky calculation

The Solarterium vision includes exploring the sky from another place and another time. The pole height here follows latitude, but the stars are decorative: historical and future sky positions will not be presented until the underlying astronomical calculations have been validated.

Destinations here describe the Solarterium vision. Which objects are included, and how each is presented, has not been finalised. Imagery is artistic rendering unless credited as spacecraft photography, and none of it is live.

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