I’m excited to share something new I’ve been working on. It’s a sky atlas that runs entirely in your web browser. No app store, no signup, no servers. Just tell it where you are and it draws the live sky above your head, exactly as it is right now.
A few of my favorite features:
- Live sky – Set your location and it tracks the real sky second by second. Use your phone to aim the view.
- Time travel – Scrub forward or backward by minutes or centuries. Replay last night’s eclipse or preview next month’s conjunction.
- True scale – Every planet and moon is shown at its real apparent size, from Jupiter’s moons to Saturn’s rings.
- Favorites – Save the objects you love and jump back in one click, or search a name and fly straight to it.
- Night mode – Uses only red and black to protect your night vision.
The database includes 101,234 stars colored by their true tint, the Sun, Moon, all the planets (plus Pluto, of course), and 16 planetary moons checked against NASA’s numbers. There are also 7 famous comets and all 3 known interstellar visitors, plus 2 space stations tracked live from fresh orbital data.
This is a project I plan to keep working on and adding more to. I have a long list of ideas for new features and improvements, and I’ll be sharing updates as it grows. If you want to follow along, give it a try and let me know what you think. Clear skies! 🔭
