Credits & licenses
Every shape, texture, number and library used by this map, who made it, and the terms it is used under. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA, JPL, ESA, JAXA, Johns Hopkins APL, USGS or any author listed here.
Orbits and positions
- Asteroid and comet orbits, diameters: NASA/JPL-Caltech Solar System Dynamics, Small-Body Database (SBDB) API. US Government work, no copyright.
- Planet and outer-planet moon positions: NASA/JPL-Caltech Solar System Dynamics, Horizons (Giorgini et al. 1996). US Government work, no copyright.
- Orbits of the moons of Eris, Haumea, Gonggong, Quaoar, Orcus, Salacia and Didymos (no Horizons ephemerides): Holler et al. 2021; Ragozzine & Brown 2009; Kiss et al. 2019; Fraser et al. 2013; Brown et al. 2010; Grundy et al. 2019; NASA DART / ESA Hera results. Positions are computed in the browser from these elements and are approximate.
3D close-ups — real shape models spacecraft radar / telescope
All models below were modified for this site: decimated (fewer triangles), scaled to kilometres, re-oriented and converted to glTF (.glb). Rotation in the close-ups is illustrative, not the real spin.
| Body | Source, authors & citation | License / terms |
|---|---|---|
| 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko spacecraft | Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0. Shape model SPC_ESA MTP019 (CSHP_DV_130_01, low-res), from Barnes, T., Farnham, T., Jorda, L., Barthelemy, M. & Fraga, D. (eds) 2017, Shape Models of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko V2.0, RO-C-MULTI-5-67P-SHAPE-V2.0, ESA Planetary Science Archive / NASA PDS, doi:10.26007/34vg-8s07. | CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Share-alike: the modified model served here (67p.glb, decimated from ~100k to ~30k triangles, re-oriented, converted to glTF) is itself licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO with the same credit. ESA does not endorse these changes. |
| 25143 Itokawa spacecraft | Gaskell, R., Saito, J., Ishiguro, M., Kubota, T., Hashimoto, T., Hirata, N., Abe, S., Barnouin-Jha, O. & Scheeres, D. (2008), Gaskell Itokawa Shape Model V1.0, HAY-A-AMICA-5-ITOKAWASHAPE-V1.0, NASA Planetary Data System. Built from JAXA/ISAS Hayabusa AMICA images. | NASA PDS archive data, distributed without restriction; credit given as requested by PDS. |
| 65803 Didymos spacecraft | NASA/Johns Hopkins APL, “Didymos from DART data” 3D model (DART mission), from DRACO images, 2022. Scaled to 851 m. | NASA mission material used under NASA media guidelines; credit NASA/Johns Hopkins APL. No endorsement implied. |
| Dimorphos spacecraft | NASA/Johns Hopkins APL, “Dimorphos from DART data” 3D model (pre-impact), from DRACO images, 2022. Scaled to 177 m. | As Didymos. |
| 951 Gaspra spacecraft | Shape: Thomas, P.C. et al. (1994), Icarus 107, 23, archived in the NASA PDS Small Bodies Node Thomas shape models. Surface image map: NASA/JPL Galileo SSI, via the JHU-APL Small Body Mapping Tool (Ernst, C.M. et al. 2018). Only the hemisphere Galileo imaged well is mapped. | US Government / PDS data, no copyright. |
| 216 Kleopatra radar | Ostro, S.J. et al. (2000), Science 288, 836 (Arecibo). | Archived in Neese, C. (ed.) 2004, Small Body Radar Shape Models V2.0, EAR-A-5-DDR-RADARSHAPE-MODELS-V2.0, NASA PDS. US Government data, no copyright. |
| 1620 Geographos radar | Hudson, R.S. & Ostro, S.J. (1999), Icarus 140, 369 (Goldstone). | |
| 4179 Toutatis radar | Hudson, R.S., Ostro, S.J. & Scheeres, D.J. (2003), Icarus 161, 346 (Arecibo + Goldstone). | |
| 6489 Golevka radar | Hudson, R.S. et al. (2000), Icarus 148, 37 (Arecibo + Goldstone). | |
| 10 Hygiea telescope | Vernazza, P. et al. (2020), Nature Astronomy 4, 136 — DAMIT model 4392. | Via DAMIT, Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (Ďurech, J., Sidorin, V. & Kaasalainen, M. 2010, A&A 513, A46), Astronomical Institute of Charles University. CC BY 4.0. Models scaled to catalogue diameters. |
| 16 Psyche telescope | Viikinkoski, M. et al. (2018), A&A 619, L3 — DAMIT model 1806. | |
| 17 Thetis telescope | Ďurech, J. et al. (2009), A&A 493, 291; (2011), Icarus 214, 652 — DAMIT model 116. | |
| 31 Euphrosyne telescope | Yang, B. et al. (2020), A&A 641, A80 — DAMIT model 4399. | |
| 112 Iphigenia telescope | Hanuš, J. et al. (2016), A&A 586, A108 — DAMIT model 994. | |
| 532 Herculina telescope | Hanuš, J. et al. (2017), A&A 601, A114 — DAMIT model 1814. | |
| 704 Interamnia telescope | Hanuš, J. et al. (2020), A&A 633, A65 — DAMIT model 4393. |
Textures
| Used for | Source | License |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Mercury, Venus (cloud tops), Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn + rings, Uranus, Neptune, Milky Way background | Solar System Scope (INOVE), 2k maps based on NASA mission imagery. Used unmodified, wrapped on spheres / a ring. | CC BY 4.0 |
| Pluto | NASA/JHU-APL/SwRI New Horizons LORRI + MVIC; Pluto New Horizons LORRI MVIC Global Mosaic 300 m (2017), USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Downsampled to 1024 px. | US Government data, no copyright |
Stand-ins artist's approximation
These close-ups are not from spacecraft shape models. They are generic shapes sized from published measurements, with brightness set from the measured albedo. Bumps and colours are illustrative. Each one is labelled on screen.
| Body | Numbers from |
|---|---|
| 162173 Ryugu | Generic “spinning-top” shape, not the JAXA Hayabusa2 shape model. Size (≈ 900 m mean diameter, ≈ 1 km equatorial ridge), shape type and albedo (≈ 0.045) measured by JAXA's Hayabusa2 mission: Watanabe, S. et al. (2019), Science 364, 268; Sugita, S. et al. (2019), Science 364, eaaw0422. |
| Makemake | Ortiz, J.L. et al. 2012; Brown, M.E. 2013 |
| Eris | Sicardy, B. et al. 2011 |
| Haumea | Ortiz, J.L. et al. 2017 (occultation ellipsoid) |
| Gonggong · Xiangliu | Kiss, Cs. et al. 2019 |
| Quaoar | Braga-Ribas, F. et al. 2013 |
| Orcus · Salacia | Fornasier, S. et al. 2013 |
| Patientia | JPL SBDB diameter; no published 3D shape model found |
| Dysnomia | Brown, M.E. & Butler, B.J. 2023 |
| Hiʻiaka · Namaka | Fernández-Valenzuela, E. et al. 2024; estimates from brightness |
| Weywot | Kretlow, M. 2019 (estimate) |
| Vanth | Sickafoose, A.A. et al. 2019 |
| Actaea | Grundy, W.M. et al. 2019 |
| Hippocamp | Showalter, M.R. et al. 2019 (Hubble) |
| Halimede | Sheppard, S.S. et al. 2006 (estimate) |
| Methone · Pallene · Daphnis · Polydeuces | Ellipsoids with the axes measured from NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Cassini images: Thomas, P.C. et al. 2013 |
| Anthe | Cooper, N.J. et al. 2008 (estimate) |
| Irregular moons of Jupiter and Saturn | Diameters estimated from brightness assuming a dark surface (Sheppard, S.S. et al.); never resolved by any spacecraft |
Software
- D3.js v7 — © Mike Bostock, ISC License.
- three.js r169 (incl. OrbitControls, GLTFLoader, CSS2DRenderer, BufferGeometryUtils) — © three.js authors, MIT License.
- Both loaded from the jsDelivr CDN. Model conversion used trimesh (MIT) and fast-simplification (MIT).
How the license terms are met
- CC BY 4.0 (Solar System Scope, DAMIT): creator credited, license linked, changes noted (DAMIT models scaled and converted; textures unmodified).
- CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (67P): credit “ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0”, license linked, changes listed, the adapted model is shared under the same license, and no ESA endorsement is implied.
- US Government / PDS data (NASA, JPL, USGS, PDS models): no copyright; authors and archives credited as requested.
- JAXA Hayabusa2: no JAXA shape model or image is used; only published measurements, credited above.