Map of the Universe in 2D

An interactive, zoomable 2D map of the universe that runs in your browser. It opens on Earth; zoom out past the planets, the nearest stars, the Milky Way and the Local Group to galaxy clusters, superclusters, the cosmic web and the edge of the observable universe, about 46 billion light-years away. Click anything to read about it.

It is a solar system map, a star map of the Sun's neighbourhood, a map of the Milky Way galaxy and a map of the whole observable universe in one, drawn to scale from real astronomical catalogues and free to use.

The 3D map of the universe

The 3D map of the universe, the main map, shows the same objects at their true positions in space, so you can fly through it like a space flight simulator: orbit the planets, pass the nearest stars, look down on the Milky Way's disc and travel out to the cosmic web. Stars above or below the Galactic plane sit at their real height, the planets' orbits keep their tilt, and the cosmic microwave background surrounds everything as a sphere. Every view links back to the same place on the flat map.

What the map shows

In all, 2,336,347 objects, 36,152 of them with a card of facts, a short description and often a picture.

How to use it

Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click an object for its card. Search for any named object, use the zoom slider to jump between scales, or take a guided tour. The keyboard works too: arrow keys pan, plus and minus zoom, N steps through the labelled objects and Enter opens one. You can tilt the map into 3D, switch to a logarithmic view of the whole universe, and share any view: the link in the address bar reopens it.

How the map is drawn

The universe is three-dimensional but the map is flat. Each range of zoom shows a slice around a reference plane: the plane of Earth's orbit for the Solar System, the plane of the Milky Way for stars and nearby galaxies, and the supergalactic plane beyond. Objects far above or below the plane fade out. Beyond a few hundred million light-years, distances are comoving: where things are today.

Places to explore

Scales, from Earth outwards

  1. Earth and Moon (0.008 AU across)
  2. Inner planets (4 AU across)
  3. Jupiter's orbit (14 AU across)
  4. Neptune and the Kuiper belt (110 AU across)
  5. Heliopause and Voyagers (400 AU across)
  6. Oort cloud (4 light-years across)
  7. Nearest stars (24 light-years across)
  8. 100 light-years (220 light-years across)
  9. 1,000 light-years (2,400 light-years across)
  10. Local Arm (12,000 light-years across)
  11. Galactic centre (13,000 light-years across)
  12. Milky Way (160,000 light-years across)
  13. Magellanic Clouds (520,000 light-years across)
  14. Satellite galaxies (2 million light-years across)
  15. Local Group (10 million light-years across)
  16. Council of Giants (36 million light-years across)
  17. Virgo Supercluster (230 million light-years across)
  18. Laniakea (850 million light-years across)
  19. Nearby superclusters (2.3 billion light-years across)
  20. Cosmic web (11 billion light-years across)
  21. Observable universe (100 billion light-years across)

Guided tours

Famous places on the map

All 348 places with their own page

Data and credits

The map is built from public astronomical catalogues, credited here with their licences:

Map of the Universe is free and non-commercial. It runs entirely in your browser from static files; nothing you do here is sent anywhere.