Fly from Earth to the edge of the observable universe in your browser, then take an interactive astrophysics course taught inside it

[u/bartzabbel]

https://www.youreyesinspace.com/?lang=en&utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=iib

[u/Bootrear]

I love it, but I also hate it, because I've been low-key building something similar for months. lol

[u/bartzabbel → u/Bootrear]

Thanks! It’s open-source dude. You can fork and work on it. Maybe it can help to polish yours.

[u/bartzabbel]

Hi, I built this. It's a Space Engine–style explorer that runs entirely in the browser (Three.js, open source, MIT) with three layers on top:

• Explore: Solar System from NASA/JPL data, surface tiles streaming live from NASA for Earth/Moon/Mars, Voyager 1, JWST etc. at their current positions, 109k real stars, real black holes ray-traced in real time (fly to Sgr A* and watch the S2 star orbit it), pulsars spinning at their true periods.
• Guided tours: ten narrated tours (black holes, pulsars, Jupiter's moons…) — the camera flies while a voice explains.
• Academy: an "Introduction to Astrophysics" course, 5 chapters so far (celestial sphere, celestial mechanics, light, special relativity, light & matter) with ~40 interactive widgets — Michelson–Morley, light clock, Bohr atom, double slit, blackbody — formulas, a narrator, and the 3D universe behind the lesson moving to match what you're learning.
• Mission planner: Earth → Jupiter, see the Δv you'd need vs. real spacecraft.

btw, it works on phone too, but looks super classy in a desktop with gpu.

[u/terry_macky_chute → u/bartzabbel]

thank you. since you have added other dwarf planets, can you also please add Sedna. its been gaining some traction due to its upcoming trajectory

[u/bartzabbel → u/terry_macky_chute]

Thanks! You're right, besides Sedna, a few other dwarf planets are missing too. (They're actually missing from the catalog I used for the Solar System.) I'll add them at their current positions as soon as possible.

fix note: 4 of new dwarf planets including Sedna added into solar system.

[u/jonaskoblin → u/bartzabbel]

Thanks. This is gold.

[u/jakeisbakin]

Amazing work, wow. My kid would live in Space Engine 24/7 if he could I can't wait to share this with him.

[u/Schallpattern]

I'm really enjoying it!

[u/marimuthu96]

Wow, I love the guided tours! The narration is done really well.

[u/bartzabbel → u/marimuthu96]

Thanks. Maybe should try academy section next if you are interested in space.

[u/jonaskoblin]

This is pure perfection. Need to be careful not do go down that rabbit hole and trying to fully explore this...

[u/Nervous-Chemist-2548]

Just wanted to day I enjoyed this a lot together with my kids, taking turns flying somewhere.

[u/newsjunkee]

Nice work, bud!

[u/Queder]

More LLM design slop, how innovative.

[u/Skullcrusher → u/Queder]

Why do you think that? It's open source and lists all the databases they used to map the space.

[u/Queder → u/Skullcrusher]

I'm not talking about the content, rather the presentation. Monospaces fonts, the pills with thin borders, etc etc. Once you've started to notice the design language of Claude&Co, you'll see it everywhere unfortunately. There's no soul to it.

[u/Skullcrusher → u/Queder]

If that's true, then I'm with you cause fuck AI. But I'm not familiar enough with Claude's design to know if you're right.

[u/bartzabbel → u/Queder]

Yeah, actually you're right. I know how to build things, but I'm not a designer. If you are, feel free to lend a hand! It's an open-source project and everyone's welcome to contribute. My main priorities so far have been optimization and data accuracy.

[u/midlifematt]

Impressive stuff. I did the Black Hole tour, Gaia 1b was missing visuals but the rest worked, even on mobile.

[u/bartzabbel → u/midlifematt]

Thanks man! For now mobile version kinda unstable. It work better on pc.

[u/Kaellian]

Seeing the scales of the Universe never get old. All things said, for the next few tasks.

• Do not hide local cluster data within a radius of 4 to 150 light-years from the origin.

• Render the Sun at the coordinate origin as a permanent point of reference. Implement a configuration flag or UI toggle to easily show or hide the Sun reference marker.

• Ensure that any items, stars, or celestial objects generated at a distance exceeding 1 billion light-years are assigned a fallback generic description instead of being unclickable. Let people know what they are looking at.

The first point is particularly egregious since you cannot see local star until you're way past them. Hard to get a feel of the distance when you scroll out.

[u/Correct-Moment-2458 → u/Kaellian]

The ? help panel distinguishes catalogue objects from procedurally generated stars, galaxies and the cosmic web. For those distant objects, a fallback like “procedural galaxy, illustrative rather than a catalogue entry” would be more informative than a generic description that could imply measured data. It would also make the boundary between the mapped and generated universe clearer.