Lightyear.fm
Travel outwards at light speed while hearing which radio hits have reached each distance, oldest at the far edge.
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
Lightyear.fm sits in Space & Scale under Learn, filed as a minute.
- Give it one round. There is nothing to finish and nothing lost by leaving.
- Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
- Turn the sound up or put headphones on — it needs audio.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something clever, nostalgic and mesmerising.
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 one-round break between tasks
- Being impressed by a clever idea
- A trip back to the older internet
- Watching something hypnotic for a while
- Trying it with zero commitment
Lightyear.fm: quick answers
Is Lightyear.fm free?
Yes. Lightyear.fm is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Lightyear.fm?
No. You can use Lightyear.fm without signing up for anything.
Does Lightyear.fm work on a phone?
Not well. We file Lightyear.fm as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.
Is Lightyear.fm safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It does need sound, so bring headphones.
How long does Lightyear.fm take?
We file it as "A minute": One quick round, then you can leave.
More in Space & Scale
All 17 in Space & ScaleEvery photograph, video and audio recording NASA has released, searchable and free to use for anything.
- 10 min
The official live stream, which for long stretches is simply Earth turning below the space station.
- <1 min
Drag one slider from quantum foam to the cosmic web, with every object in between labelled at its true size.
- 2 min
Ride a lift from the ground to geostationary orbit, passing every layer of atmosphere and satellite on the way.
- 2 min
Same mood: clever
All clever sitesDraw a track and watch a sledder ride it, a physics toy people have spent years turning into hand-drawn music videos.
- 1 hr+
- Desktop
Hundreds of small text translators — pirate, medieval, wingdings, uwu — plus a builder for making your own.
- 10 min
Wikipedia's running audit of the things almost everyone believes and almost nobody has ever checked.
- 10 min
Every Wikipedia edit as it happens, rendered as bells and strings, with each new user announced by a whisper.
- <1 min
- Sound on
- Desktop
Keep exploring
Category
Time and mood
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