Ever wanted to fly by 47 Ursa Majoris? Enter the protoplanetary disk of beta Pictoris? Meander through the dead worlds of a millisecond pulsar? Or perhaps, you would just like to visit the more familiar planets of our own solar system.

Now you can.

Welcome to Extrasolar VR.

  • Click here for system and VRML browser requirements.
  • Click here to read the user instuctions.
  • Click here to read the acknowledgements.
  • Launch Extrasolar VR. Please be patient while the file downloads.

    Updated 17 Feb 2005: Extrasolar VR has been updated to match the temperature calculations on the rest of the site. Over a dozen new star systems have been added as well. Updates to provide for double star systems, nebulae, globular clusters, and better pulsar systems are coming.



    • Inside a protoplanetary disk

    Extrasolar VR is a VRML application that requires a VRML plugin. Currently, only the Cosmoplayer plugin has been tested. Windows users can download the plugin using the link below.

    This application is graphics and processor intensive. For best results, please use a Pentium III or higher system, or equivalent, with a 3D video card. You also can improve performance by decreasing the size of the windows that display the VRML applications, or by decreasing your screen resolution.

    Also, you may want to adjust the brightness and contrast of your monitor to better display the VRML. Click here to calibrate your monitor.

    Many of the VRML files are large and contain large graphics. Please be patient while the files download.


    When you launch Extrasolar VR, a 3D starmap will launch in a new browser window.


    The Cosmoplayer Console

    At this time, you may need to adjust the settings of the VRML browser for optimal viewing. Click the Check Button on the right side of Cosmoplayer Console. On the Preference box that displays, choose the Performance tab and make sure Nice Transparency and Textures are checked. Next, select the Graphics tab and choose OpenGL as your rendering option. Then, click OK to return to the starmap.


    The Starmap

    Now you are ready to explore. Use the Viewpoint List to select a star, or use the VRML Navigation Controls to wend your way through the galaxy and select a star by clicking it. Select a star, and the system displays its classification, name, right ascension (RA), declination (DEC), and distance (d) from the sun in light years. To explore the planets and planetesimal belts of the star, click it again. This will load a VRML map of the star's planetary system.


    The Upsilon Andromedae System

    The planetary system map shows the orbits of each planet, as well as any protoplanetary, asteroid, or Kuiper belts the system has. Use the Viewpoint List to navigate between planets and belts. You also can use the Viewpoint List to view the entire system from various distances. Select a planet, and the system displays its classification, name, mass (M) in multiples of either Jupiter's or Earth's mass, distance (d) from the star in AUs, orbital period (P), and orbital eccentricity (e). For disks and belts, the system displays the name and the minimum and maximum distance in AUs. Click a planet to display an HTML factsheet about that planet.


    Saturn and its moons

    To return to the starmap, click your browser's back button.


    Home sweet home

    That's all there is to it. Click here to launch Extrasolar VR.


    Except for where mentioned below, all VRML and graphics on www.extrasolar.net are Copyright © 1996-2001, John Whatmough. All Rights Reserved.

  • The code for generating lens flares in VRML is from www.smeenk.com.

  • The Ring and HSphere VRML PROTOs are from Terminus VRML Site.

  • The model of the Milky Way galaxy is based on one from the Cosmic Background Explorer VRML model site.

  • Images of deep sky objects, such as M42 and Sag A*, are from various NASA programs.

  • Many of the textures of the planets of our solar system are based on images from the following sites: