Scientific Atlas
A structured catalogue of planets, moons, stars and other objects. Search by name, class or system, then open a record for evidence, measurements and open questions.
Planets
Rocky worlds, gas giants and ice giants orbiting the Sun.
Mars
- Class
- Terrestrial planet
- System
- Inner solar system
A cold desert carved by water that no longer flows.
Mercury
- Class
- Terrestrial planet
- System
- Solar System
A small, airless world shaped by temperature extremes.
Venus
- Class
- Terrestrial planet
- System
- Solar System
A rocky world beneath a dense, heat-trapping atmosphere.
Earth
- Class
- Terrestrial planet
- System
- Solar System
The only world currently known to host life.
Uranus
- Class
- Ice giant
- System
- Solar System
An ice giant rotating almost on its side.
Neptune
- Class
- Ice giant
- System
- Solar System
A distant blue world with powerful atmospheric winds.
Dwarf Planets
Rounded planetary bodies that have not cleared their orbital neighbourhoods.
Pluto
- Class
- Dwarf planet
- System
- Kuiper Belt
A complex icy world in the Kuiper Belt.
Ceres
- Class
- Dwarf planet
- System
- Main asteroid belt
The largest object in the asteroid belt.
Eris
- Class
- Dwarf planet
- System
- Scattered disc
A distant world comparable in mass to Pluto.
Haumea
- Class
- Dwarf planet
- System
- Kuiper Belt
A rapidly rotating, elongated dwarf planet with a ring.
Makemake
- Class
- Dwarf planet
- System
- Kuiper Belt
A bright, methane-bearing world beyond Neptune.
Moons
Natural satellites shaped by impacts, tides, geology and their parent systems.
Europa
- Class
- Icy moon
- System
- Jupiter system
A cracked shell of ice, resurfaced from below.
The Moon
- Class
- Natural satellite
- System
- Earth system
Receding a few centimetres a year — measured with light.
Io
- Class
- Volcanic moon
- System
- Jupiter system
The most volcanically active world known.
Ganymede
- Class
- Icy moon
- System
- Jupiter system
The largest moon and the only one known with an intrinsic magnetic field.
Titan
- Class
- Icy moon
- System
- Saturn system
A moon with a thick atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes.
Enceladus
- Class
- Ocean moon
- System
- Saturn system
An icy moon venting material from a subsurface ocean.
Triton
- Class
- Icy moon
- System
- Neptune system
A large moon moving opposite Neptune's rotation.
Stars
Main-sequence stars and evolved giants or remnants, classified through spectra and luminosity.
The Sun
- Class
- G-type main-sequence star
- System
- Solar System
The star that supplies nearly all energy to Earth's surface.
Proxima Centauri
- Class
- Red dwarf
- System
- Alpha Centauri system
The nearest known star beyond the Sun.
Sirius
- Class
- Binary star system
- System
- Milky Way
The brightest star system in Earth's night sky.
Betelgeuse
- Class
- Red supergiant
- System
- Orion region, Milky Way
A vast evolved star approaching the end of its life.
Vega
- Class
- A-type main-sequence star
- System
- Milky Way
A nearby bright star surrounded by a debris disc.
Exoplanets
Worlds beyond the Solar System, usually inferred indirectly from their effects on starlight.
HD 189733 b
- Class
- Hot Jupiter exoplanet
- System
- HD 189733
A hot giant whose clouds may be mineral, not water.
TRAPPIST-1e
- Class
- Terrestrial exoplanet
- System
- TRAPPIST-1
An Earth-sized world in a compact seven-planet system.
Proxima Centauri b
- Class
- Terrestrial-mass exoplanet
- System
- Proxima Centauri
A nearby planet in the temperate zone of an active red dwarf.
Kepler-186f
- Class
- Earth-size exoplanet
- System
- Kepler-186
An Earth-size world orbiting in its star's habitable zone.
K2-18 b
- Class
- Sub-Neptune exoplanet
- System
- K2-18
A temperate sub-Neptune studied through atmospheric spectroscopy.
WASP-12 b
- Class
- Hot Jupiter
- System
- WASP-12
An extremely hot giant planet orbiting close to its star.
Nebulae
Star-forming clouds, supernova remnants and shells cast off by evolved stars.
Orion Nebula
- Class
- Emission nebula / star-forming region
- System
- Orion Molecular Cloud
A nearby stellar nursery visible to the unaided eye.
Crab Nebula
- Class
- Supernova remnant
- System
- Milky Way
The expanding remains of a supernova observed in 1054.
Helix Nebula
- Class
- Planetary nebula
- System
- Milky Way
Gas released by a Sun-like star late in its evolution.
Carina Nebula
- Class
- Emission nebula / star-forming complex
- System
- Carina–Sagittarius Arm
A vast complex shaped by massive young stars.
Star Clusters
Open and globular populations whose shared histories help test stellar evolution.
Pleiades
- Class
- Open star cluster
- System
- Milky Way
A young nearby cluster known across many sky cultures.
Hyades
- Class
- Open star cluster
- System
- Milky Way
The nearest major open cluster to the Solar System.
Omega Centauri
- Class
- Globular cluster
- System
- Milky Way halo
A massive cluster with unusually complex stellar populations.
47 Tucanae
- Class
- Globular cluster
- System
- Milky Way halo
A dense sphere of ancient stars.
Galaxies
Spiral, elliptical and irregular systems of stars, gas, dust and dark matter.
Andromeda Galaxy
- Class
- Spiral galaxy
- System
- Local Group
The nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way.
Large Magellanic Cloud
- Class
- Dwarf irregular galaxy
- System
- Local Group
A nearby satellite galaxy rich in star-forming regions.
Triangulum Galaxy
- Class
- Spiral galaxy
- System
- Local Group
A smaller spiral member of the Local Group.
Messier 87
- Class
- Giant elliptical galaxy
- System
- Virgo Cluster
A giant galaxy with a relativistic jet and famous central black hole.
Black Holes
Stellar-mass and supermassive objects inferred through gravity, radiation and horizon-scale imaging.
Sagittarius A*
- Class
- Supermassive black hole
- System
- Milky Way galactic centre
Invisible itself — traced by the stars it moves.
Cygnus X-1
- Class
- Stellar-mass black hole candidate
- System
- Binary star system
A historic X-ray source in a binary system.
M87*
- Class
- Supermassive black hole
- System
- Messier 87
The black hole behind the first horizon-scale image.
Gaia BH1
- Class
- Dormant stellar-mass black hole candidate
- System
- Binary star system
A nearby dark companion inferred from a Sun-like star's motion.
TON 618
- Class
- Luminous quasar / supermassive black hole
- System
- Distant galaxy
An exceptionally luminous quasar powered by a very massive black hole.
Other Objects
Comets, asteroids, interstellar visitors and human-made objects that cross category boundaries.
Jupiter
- Class
- Gas giant
- System
- Outer solar system
A planet with no ground — only deepening atmosphere.
Saturn
- Class
- Gas giant
- System
- Outer solar system
Rings that are not solid, but countless orbiting fragments.
Halley's Comet
- Class
- Periodic comet
- System
- Solar System
A comet returning to the inner Solar System roughly every 76 years.
Vesta
- Class
- Large asteroid
- System
- Main asteroid belt
A differentiated asteroid with a vast impact basin.
ʻOumuamua
- Class
- Interstellar object
- System
- Passing through the Solar System
The first confirmed object observed arriving from interstellar space.
Voyager 1
- Class
- Interstellar spacecraft
- System
- Beyond the heliopause
The most distant human-made object.