Visualize the size of countries on the sun and other planets

Compare the true size of any country

This interactive lets you drag any country across the conventional Mercator projection to compare its true size to others. Africa, which appears similar in size to Greenland on standard maps, is actually close to 15 times larger. It's a great way to recalibrate your assumptions about world geography.

Explore an interactive visualization of the solar system

This tool allows you to view the orbits of planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and other significant objects in the solar system. Clicking on an object reveals key facts and historical data.

Explore global solar resources with this interactive map

One of the biggest challenges to deploying solar panels is whether electricity can be generated reliably when needed, day after day. This detailed interactive map calculates the solar power output potential of regions worldwide and provides a visual comparison between locations such as North Africa and the US Midwest.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

An interactive look at Neptune, the distant planet

Dark, cold, and whipped by supersonic winds, Neptune is a gas giant made of hydrogen, helium, ammonia, and methane, and was the first planet discovered through mathematics rather than direct observation. It's also the smallest of the gas planets on the periphery of the solar system. Learn more about the last planet in the solar system through the NASA site.

Explore the scale of the universe in this interactive adventure

The sheer enormity of the universe escapes our ability to conceive of its scale, despite the best efforts of human imagination. This interactive provides an intuitive sense of how small we are, from a single astronaut to the Milky Way and beyond.

Explore the Earth at night from space

See the planet in all its luminosity with this NightEarth app, an interactive spherical globe showing real satellite imagery of Earth. Toggle between views of real-time clouds, aurora borealis activity, and more.

Building the solar system to scale in the Nevada desert

On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our planet's humble position in space.

Track the current size of the Antarctic ozone hole with NASA's real-time data

NASA's Ozone Watch provides daily satellite images and time-lapse videos showing the extent of the Antarctic ozone hole. Each spring, scientists monitor its size and depth to measure recovery progress and detect any new chemical or climatic disruptions.

Everything you need to know about the planets in our solar system

NASA provides a re-introduction to our solar systems's planets, and a few other neighborhood residents. In the Milky Way galaxy, there are more planets than stars. We’ve discovered thousands of planets orbiting distant stars, but it all started with the current lineup of eight planets orbiting our own star—the sun. Learn more here.

Visualizing the world's population centers

What does population density look like on a global scale? These detailed 3D renders illustrate our biggest urban areas and highlight population trends.

Explore an interactive timeline and map of dinosaurs across the globe

This tool maps dinosaur habitats based on fossil sites around the world. It includes short articles and additional information—including size, diet, and weight—about each dinosaur. A timeline and data table also allow users to compare dinosaur emergence and extinction dates.

Observations from Hubble contributed to Pluto's demotion from planetary status

Before the flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope provided images of Pluto and its moon Charon, which was similar in size. Rather than a unique ninth planet, Pluto became reclassified as a dwarf planet, like many similar objects in the Kuiper Belt.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Watch visualization of different-sized asteroid impacts

The animations range from a 4-meter-wide asteroid that would burn up in the atmosphere with the impact of 0.6 Hiroshima nuclear bombs to a 940-kilometer asteroid the size of the dwarf planet Ceres, which would produce a mass extinction event.

Simulate geological activity at plate boundaries

You are given a planetary model with optional rock formation and your choice of the number of tectonic plates and their densities. Draw continents, assign forces and plate boundary types, and run the simulation across map types to observe earthquakes, volcanoes, and other geological activity.

Mapping NATO's 32 countries across North America and Europe

See an updated map with the option to learn more about each country's membership and role in the alliance. The map shows the borders of its member countries with extra filters capable of locating its many civilian structures, nonmember partners, positions of missile sites, and more.

What an average-sized home in each state looks like

Over the last century, the average home size in the U.S. has skyrocketed. Here’s a look at which states have the biggest and smallest homes.

Replacing the sun with a black hole would quickly collapse life on Earth

A black hole of the sun's mass would only be six kilometers wide, but it would exert the same gravitational pull as the sun. This means the planets would keep their current orbits but no longer receive solar radiation.

Visualizing the world's wealth in 2019

The world has a net worth of $360T. The U.S. economy continues to dominate given its sheer size, Asia and Europe are not that far behind.

Visualizing the trans-Atlantic slave trade in two minutes

This animation shows all recorded slave shipments from the 16th to 19th centuries, conceptualizing not only the slave trade with America but South America as well.

National parks, explained

Roughly 83 million acres of the United States are set aside as federal National Parks land, an area large as Germany. From the original Yellowstone Park to small monuments and memorials, learn the essentials on this portion of America dedicated to public enjoyment and recreation with our quick explainer video.

What are the ten largest deserts?

Read this article to learn more about the ten biggest deserts in the world—including what their climates are like, where they can be found, and just how big they actually are. Did you know, for instance, that Antarctica is home to the world’s...

Remnants of another planet that helped form the moon may be beneath Earth's surface

Large mantle structures beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean may be the buried remains of Thea, a large Mars-sized planet that collided with Earth. The theory is supported by isotopic evidence from volcanic and lunar rocks.

NOAA's interactive sea level rise viewer

How will rising seas affect you? Launch NOAA's sea level rise viewer and zoom in on impacts to different parts of the United States, or type in your city or address to learn more.

A 1908 toy visualizes how the sun never set on the British Empire

Researchers uncovered an early-1900s children’s toy that romanticized the British Empire: a rotating world map showing where the sun shone on Britain’s far-flung territories. The interactive device also served as an advertisement for "The Children’s Encyclopedia."

Why we have different seasons

Visualize just how exactly seasons come to be with this animation of the earth in relation to the sun, and see how earth's tilt determines our seasons.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.