How Small is Earth?

What is this visualization about?

When we ask, “How small is Earth?”, the best way to understand it is by seeing our planet next to the massive stars and planets that fill the universe. This visualization lets you explore that scale for yourself, drawing from a dataset of more than 600,000 celestial bodies. You can compare their radii, temperatures, and luminosities against each other to see where Earth fits in and appreciate how large the scale of the universe is.

Data Source: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/realkiller69/gaia-stars-dataset-from-dr3-data-release-3

How to use this visualization

Main Chart

The main chart on the left shows stars and planets with color corresponding to temperature.

  • Hover over circles to view details.
  • Click to load a celestial body into a comparison card.
  • Click and drag to zoom in on a region.

Minimap

The minimap provides a zoomed out view of the main chart.

  • Drag the brush to adjust the visible area.
  • Use “View All” or “Zoom In/Out” to change the minimap view.
  • Use "Zoom Out(max)" to show an animation.

Comparison Cards

Compare two celestial bodies using the two cards on the top right.

  • Select a card, then click a star or planet to load it into the card.
  • Celestial bodies will be shown to scale relative to each other.