Explore the universe in 3D with the Universe Applet
or get some more files and more commands
with the Large Structures Applet which is
presented in a resizeable floating frame.
Hold the 3D universe in your hand
This applet shows a true 3D map (or model) of stars and other objects in the Milky Way and thousands of
other galaxies near or far away. You get the 3D effect when you turn the universe around as a ball by
dragging it with the mouse. "True" means that positions of stars and galaxies are correct (but sizes are
not).
Changing to one or several other files, turn the universe around and do some zooming is fine.
But there are many other possibilities. To get explanations and use them all take time to visit the
Large Structures Applet.
Files
My applets have benefited from data compilations made by others. I have adapted files as they appear on
several sites, especially
-
NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
-
VizieR at The Strasbourg astronomical Data Center
(CDS) with of course lots of files but not so many with distances to the objects
-
An Atlas of The Universe of Richard Powell. His maps
inspired me the idea of these applets
-
Galaxy Map of Kevin Jardine, a very complete documentation on
our galaxy
-
Fourmilab by John Walker for data on the solar system
-
Heavens Above by Chris Peat for data on Pioneer
10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2 and New Horizons far away spacecrafts
You should use the button "File" down left in the applet to see more details concerning the sources of
each individual file.