Space Safari Update – From a Book to an Interactive Astronomy Experience
In January 2026, I published a blog post introducing my book Space Safari: A Journey Through Our Cosmic Neighborhood. At the time, I described the idea behind the book: taking readers on a guided journey from our Solar System to nearby stars, nebulae, galaxies, and eventually the larger universe.
Since then, the project has grown considerably.
What originally started as a companion website with additional illustrations, videos, and reading material has developed into an interactive astronomy platform. I've spent a great deal of time creating visualizations that make it easier to understand the enormous distances, structures, and physical processes of our universe.
The website is available at:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/
All the interactive tools are freely available. You don't need to purchase the book to explore or enjoy the website.
1. Interactive 3D Universe – Explore Our Stellar Neighborhood
One of my latest additions is an interactive three-dimensional model of our stellar neighborhood.
It currently includes 117 stars, including all 100 brightest stellar systems as seen from Earth.
You can rotate the universe, zoom in and out, search for individual stars, and examine their physical properties, including distance, temperature, luminosity, radius, and spectral classification.
One particularly interesting feature is the ability to switch between two different distance representations:
Linear scale: Preserves the actual proportions between stellar distances. A star twice as far away appears twice as distant in the visualization.
Logarithmic scale: Compresses the enormous distances so that nearby and more distant stars can be explored together without losing their relative directions and distance ordering.
The difference between these modes illustrates just how difficult it is to represent astronomical distances accurately.
I've also started developing three-dimensional visualizations of nebulae and other deep-sky objects. These are visual models intended to help communicate spatial relationships, rather than exact reconstructions of their true three-dimensional structures.
The 3D Universe is still under development, and I plan to expand it further.
Explore it here:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/3d-universe.html
2. Interactive Planetarium – Explore the Night Sky
The website now features an interactive planetarium that allows visitors to explore the celestial sphere.
You can rotate the view, zoom in on different regions of the sky, examine constellations, and locate astronomical objects.
I've also integrated my Star Map Filter into the planetarium. This provides an additional layer of real stars rather than just a decorative star background.
You can:
Search for individual stars and examine their physical properties.
Filter stars by brightness, distance, age, mass, luminosity, temperature, and spectral class.
Display constellation lines and names.
Use your geographical location and a selected date and time to identify stars above your horizon.
Locate objects from my astrophotography gallery directly in the sky.
One of my goals has been to connect astronomical photographs with their actual positions in the sky. Rather than simply looking at an image of a distant nebula, you can discover where it is and how it relates to the surrounding stars.
Explore the planetarium:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/planetarium.html
3. Interactive Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram – Understanding Stars
Another addition is an interactive Hertzsprung–Russell (H–R) diagram containing 182 stars.
The H–R diagram is one of the most important tools in stellar astronomy. By plotting stars according to their luminosity and surface temperature, we can identify patterns that reveal their physical characteristics and stages of evolution.
My interactive version allows visitors to explore these relationships themselves.
You can search for individual stars, examine their properties, and filter the diagram by temperature, distance, radius, age, spectral class, constellation, and stellar type.
For example, you can compare red dwarfs, main-sequence stars, giants, supergiants, and white dwarfs.
It's a useful way to understand why some stars are extremely luminous despite having relatively cool surfaces, while others are incredibly hot but faint because of their small sizes.
Explore the H–R diagram:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/hr-diagram.html
4. Deep-Sky Atlas – 272 Astronomical Objects
I've also created a searchable Deep-Sky Atlas featuring 272 astronomical objects.
The collection includes:
Nebulae, including emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, and planetary nebulae.
Open and globular star clusters.
Individual galaxies.
Groups and clusters of galaxies.
Objects can be searched by name or catalogue designation and filtered by object type, constellation, catalogue, and distance.
The purpose is to provide a visual introduction to the enormous variety of objects beyond our Solar System, while making it easy to compare different astronomical structures.
For someone beginning to explore deep-sky astronomy, it can be difficult to understand the difference between a nebula, a star cluster, and a galaxy. The atlas helps explain those distinctions through images and astronomical information.
Explore the atlas:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/deep-sky-atlas
5. Astrophotography Gallery – My Own Observations
I've also started adding my own astronomical photographs to the website.
Using my ZWO Seestar S30 Pro, I've photographed galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and the Sun during a partial solar eclipse.
The gallery currently contains 20 observations, including objects such as:
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)
Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy (M81 and M82)
The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)
NGC 7331 and Stephan's Quintet
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000)
The Eastern and Western Veil Nebulae
The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635)
The Pleiades (M45)
The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (M13)
The gallery includes a slideshow, full-screen viewing, and additional information about the photographed objects.
Since I observe from Malmö, Sweden, where light pollution is considerable, astrophotography is also an interesting practical challenge.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of this addition is its connection with the planetarium. Visitors can look at a photograph and then locate the same object in the sky.
Explore the gallery:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/gallery.html
6. Space Safari Advent Calendar – 24 Days of Astronomy
Another recent addition is a special astronomical Advent calendar for December 2026.
Beginning on December 1, visitors will be able to open one new door each day until Christmas Eve.
Each door reveals an astronomical discovery connected to the themes of Space Safari.
The calendar is designed around a star-filled background, with each day's discovery contributing to the experience as the calendar progresses.
New doors unlock at midnight according to the visitor's local time.
The idea is to make December a small journey through the universe, with something new to discover every day.
Explore the Advent calendar:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/advent-calendar
7. Free Book Chapters and Additional Resources
The original purpose of the website remains important.
Visitors can still explore the book itself, including two complete sample chapters, without purchasing anything.
The site also provides additional images, videos, and resources that complement the topics discussed in the book.
The book is available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover editions through Amazon.
Since the original announcement, I've also worked on revising and expanding the book, improving explanations, illustrations, chapter summaries, and supporting material.
Read the preview:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/preview
8. Connecting Astronomy, Programming, and Education
As someone who works with programming, physics, and education, I've always been interested in how interactive visualizations can improve understanding.
Astronomy is particularly suitable for this approach.
Reading that Sirius is about 8.6 light-years away provides information. Seeing Sirius in a three-dimensional representation alongside other nearby stars provides an entirely different perspective.
Similarly, reading about stellar temperatures and luminosities is useful, but moving between stars on an interactive H–R diagram makes their relationships easier to understand.
That's what I've been trying to achieve with Space Safari: combining accurate astronomical information with interactive tools that encourage exploration.
The book provides a connected narrative, while the website lets visitors investigate some of those concepts independently.
What's Next?
The website is an ongoing project, and I still have plenty of ideas.
I want to continue improving the 3D Universe, particularly the visualization of nebulae and other astronomical structures. I'll also keep expanding the astrophotography gallery as I collect more observations.
My longer-term goal is to bring the different visualizations closer together so visitors can move naturally between a star's position in space, its physical properties, its place in the H–R diagram, and its appearance in our night sky.
Ultimately, I want Space Safari to be more than just a book companion. I want it to be a place where anyone interested in astronomy can explore, experiment, and develop a better understanding of our cosmic neighborhood.
And once again, everything on the website is free to explore. You can enjoy the visualizations without buying the book.
Visit Space Safari:
https://spacesafari-thebook.com/
If you explore the website, I'd be very interested in hearing your feedback, especially about the interactive visualizations and the developing 3D Universe.
Paul Belfrage
Kommentarer