01 / SPACE & ASTRONOMY · EXPLORE THE SCALE

How far away is everything?

From the Sun to Neptune, the Kuiper Belt, the heliopause, the hypothetical Oort Cloud, and our nearest stellar neighbours. One astronomical ruler — two radically different ways to view it.

~268,000 AUSun → Proxima Centauri · ~4.24 light-years

02 / INTERSTELLAR DISTANCE RULER

Measure the journey

Compare physical distances, light-travel time and the duration of a hypothetical trip. Select two destinations, or activate “Measure on map” and click any two bodies.

FROM

→

Distance—

At light speed—

At 0.2 c—

Travel times assume constant speed in a straight line; no acceleration, deceleration or engineering limits are modelled.

03 / WHAT THE MODEL CAN — AND CANNOT — SHOW

Distance is a constraint, not a verdict.

The nearest star is over four light-years away. That alone makes interstellar journeys extraordinarily demanding with known human propulsion. But physical distance is not evidence that a particular ancient artefact was built by aliens — nor a numerical estimate of the probability of alien visitation.

Archaeology, provenance, engineering records and independent physical evidence must test those separate historical claims. The Fermi paradox concerns why extraterrestrial civilizations have not been conclusively detected, not proof that they never existed or travelled.

Investigate: Were the pyramids built by aliens? ↗

Model notes: Orbital positions are approximate JPL Keplerian solutions evaluated for today's date, not live ephemerides. Linear mode preserves astronomical distances; logarithmic mode transforms radial distances using log₁₀(1 + AU). “Visible” deliberately exaggerates planet diameters; “True size” does not. The asteroid and Kuiper belts are particle illustrations, not complete object catalogs. Orbital particle directions are prograde as viewed from the north ecliptic pole (not a real-time ephemeris); orbital rates are accelerated and only qualitatively ordered. The Sun rotates prograde, whereas Venus and Uranus have special axial rotation directions. Their animated motion is accelerated for visual legibility and is not a real-time orbital simulation. The Galactic Sky background is a procedural artistic illustration, not an observational all-sky map. The separate Milky Way mode uses a credited composited equirectangular panorama (not a calibrated star catalogue, astrometric sky map or precise background for the model’s schematic stellar directions). Distance rays connect the Sun to schematic plotted positions, and linear mode remains linear even when readable body sizes are exaggerated. Voyager 1 and 2 are plotted at approximately 172 AU and 144 AU as of October 2026, with schematic directions, not live ephemerides. The heliopause and termination shock vary by direction and solar activity; displayed radii are indicative. The Oort Cloud has not been directly imaged: its extent and shape remain hypothetical. Planets show Sun-facing illuminated hemispheres and darker night hemispheres in both engines; their brightness and falloff are illustrative rather than physically photometric because logarithmic distance and enlarged Visible markers distort geometry. Stellar directions are schematic; radial distances are representative. Time estimates are pedagogical.