Can you see it, and what gear do you need?

Roaming the universe and feeling what it would be like to stand on a far world are two of our three pillars. The third is Observe: the bridge from the screen to the night sky over your own head.

For every object on the site, a world, its host star, a galaxy, or a black hole, Observe will tell you whether it is within reach of your eyes and what it takes to find it: naked eye, a pair of binoculars, a small backyard scope, or a large one. Where an object is too faint or too far to see for yourself, we will say so plainly, and point you to the real telescope imagery instead.

This pillar is in the works. As it comes together it will fold in recommended gear for each tier of viewing, so you can go from reading about a thing to actually looking for it.