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100,000 Stars

Fly out through a mapped model of our stellar neighbourhood until the Sun is one unremarkable dot among thousands.

Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.

How to get the most from it

100,000 Stars sits in Space & Scale under Learn, filed as instant.

  • Just open it. It pays off within seconds, with nothing to read first.
  • Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
  • It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
  • No account needed — you can start without signing up.
  • Go in expecting something mesmerising, beautiful and brainy.

About this category: Space, deep time and the size of things. Every site here exists to give you the one thing a textbook diagram cannot: actual scale.

Good for

  • A five-second distraction
  • Watching something hypnotic for a while
  • Looking at something lovely
  • Giving your brain a workout
  • A quiet break at your desk
  • Trying it with zero commitment

100,000 Stars: quick answers

Is 100,000 Stars free?

Yes. 100,000 Stars is free to use and needs no account.

Do I need an account to use 100,000 Stars?

No. You can use 100,000 Stars without signing up for anything.

Does 100,000 Stars work on a phone?

Not well. We file 100,000 Stars as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.

Is 100,000 Stars safe for work?

Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.

How long does 100,000 Stars take?

We file it as "Instant": Good within five seconds of loading.

More in Space & Scale

All 17 in Space & Scale

Same mood: mesmerising

All mesmerising sites
  • The original tile-merging game, written in a weekend and responsible for an enormous amount of lost 2014.

  • Grant Sanderson's maths lessons, plus the written versions of the animations that made linear algebra look like geometry.

  • Starts as one button beside a dying fire and quietly becomes something much larger. Best played without reading anything about it first.

  • Waterhole cameras in southern African reserves, running since the nineties, where nothing happens for an hour and then everything does.

Keep exploring

Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.