Sun

About this sky

Positions come from JPL's approximate planetary elements (valid 1800–2050) and simple circular orbits for the moons, so they are close, not exact. Facts come from NASA fact sheets, each linked with its date in the sheet.

Cinematic scale enlarges every body and compresses distances so the system fits a screen; True scale, under Layers, restores both. Focused on one world, the others shrink back to their true size. Sunlight dims less with distance than it really does, so the outer worlds stay visible. Shadows fall when and where they really do; a moon’s shadow is drawn as large as the moon is drawn, and a moon inside its planet’s shadow keeps a faint trace of light so it never reads as a hole in the sky.

The asteroid belt is a synthetic population shaped like the real one; only Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea follow their real orbits. The air of Mars, Venus and Titan is a tuned approximation, not a measured profile. Europa, Ganymede and Callisto have greyscale maps, tinted toward their true colours; gaps in the Io and Callisto maps are filled from nearby terrain. Earth’s cloud layer is one satellite map that drifts slowly to suggest weather. The cinematic grade is a colour choice; Neutral, under Layers, removes it.

Maps: Solar System Scope (CC BY 4.0) and NASA 3D Resources. Stars: HYG database (CC BY-SA 4.0). Orbits and rotation: JPL Solar System Dynamics and NAIF. Type: Bodoni Moda and Martian Mono (OFL). Engine: three.js (MIT).