Show HN: Atlas of Space
An interactive 3D “Atlas of Space” that visualizes the Solar System in-browser has impressed users with its smooth performance, accurate orbital scales, and accessibility on both desktop and mobile. People highlight its educational value—especially for helping kids grasp distances, inclinations, and exotic objects like Kuiper Belt bodies—while requesting enhancements such as better object selection, time controls (including scrolling and real-time views), spacecraft and fictional overlays, and views beyond the Solar System. The creator explains the technical underpinnings, including Three.js rendering and physics based on Keplerian elements and Cartesian transformations, and has already incorporated some feedback like fixing Earth’s tilt and adding a real-time clock with backward time navigation.
Overall Reception
- Strongly positive response; many call it beautiful, smooth, and “bookmark-worthy.”
- Several mention showing it to kids and using it to spark conversations about space, scale, and aliens.
- People appreciate that it’s lightweight and runs well directly in the browser.
UI/UX and Usability
- Panning: users request keyboard alternatives to right-click drag and note issues on touchpads and mobile.
- Mobile: many are impressed by how well it works on phones but find centering/following planets harder than on desktop.
- Selection: repeated requests to make labels and orbit paths clickable, not just tiny planet points; also brighter non-planet labels.
- Navigation: suggestions for a “compass” or quick recenter button; there is a reset control but some miss it.
- Users ask for a way to lock view for scrolling on mobile and for deep links to specific objects.
Time Controls and Educational Use
- Many want to scroll through time, set arbitrary past/future dates, and run time backwards.
- A real-time clock and “where is this planet right now” view are requested; a real-time mode with backward time support is later added.
- Some want a consistent interpretation of ∆t, noting confusion between displayed rate and actual elapsed time.
Physics, Data, and Accuracy
- Creator explains orbits are simulated from Keplerian elements transformed to Cartesian coordinates and integrated forward.
- Limitations acknowledged: approximations, missing effects (solar wind, relativity, non-spherical bodies), and difficulty modeling co-orbitals and spacecraft trajectories.
- Bugs/quirks: initial Earth axial tilt sign was wrong (later fixed); users notice orbit lines offset from bodies and question precision.
Scope and Feature Requests
- Requests to:
- Add Trojan asteroids, more spacecraft (beyond the Tesla Roadster), Voyager missions, FarFarOut, Bennu, and Trojan groups.
- Hide non-planets to focus on planetary inclinations.
- Show Lagrange points, interplanetary transport networks, and possibly relativistic mechanics.
- Extend beyond the solar system to nearby stars, the galaxy, and other systems.
- Add a “fictional” overlay (e.g., ring gates, sci‑fi locations) and sound effects.
- Use it as a screensaver/active desktop.
Technology Stack and Openness
- Implemented as a static React app using Three.js for 3D and canvas for annotations, deployed on Netlify.
- Codebase is open source, and commenters praise modern browser capabilities and plan to study the implementation.
Astronomy and Terminology Side Threads
- Debate over calling the star “Sol” vs “Sun”; some see “Sol” as sci‑fi, others as valid Latin/astronomy usage.
- Observations and discussion around Pluto’s inclined, eccentric orbit and resonant “dance” with Neptune.
- Discussion of trans‑Neptunian and distant objects (Sedna, FarFarOut), and how observational bias explains their clustered positions.
- Side explanations of spacecraft attitude control, star trackers, and experimental pulsar navigation systems.
- Clarifications about lunar and planetary paths around the Sun, and an ecliptic-based coordinate system (vernal equinox, ecliptic north/south).