Sources every number credited

Where every number comes from

Measured, not guessed: each number on this website is listed here with its source, a link, its licence and the date it was checked. Values marked "derived" were calculated by Vishala Space from the sources named.

Numbers on the home map and site pages

Number	What	Source	Licence / credit	Checked
7,918 mi (12,742 km)	Earth's mean diameter	NASA NSSDC Earth Fact Sheet nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
24,901 mi	Earth's equator, around	NASA NSSDC Earth Fact Sheet (equatorial radius 6,378.137 km), processed by Vishala Space nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
238,855 mi	Earth to the Moon, average distance	NASA Moon facts (mean distance 384,400 km) science.nasa.gov/moon/facts	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
1.3 s	Light time Earth to Moon	Derived: average distance ÷ speed of light (299,792.458 km/s, exact by definition, BIPM SI Brochure) www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure	Derived by Vishala Space; SI Brochure CC BY 4.0 (BIPM)	23 October 2026
4.54 billion years	Earth's age	USGS, Age of the Earth pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html	Public domain. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey	23 October 2026
about 250 mi (about 400 km)	Space Station height above the ground	NASA International Space Station facts www.nasa.gov/international-space-station	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
about 25,000 mi (about 40,000 km)	Length of the Pacific Ring of Fire (a defined belt)	NOAA Ocean Exploration, "What is the Ring of Fire?" oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/ocean-fact/rof	Public domain. Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration	23 October 2026
93 million mi, average	Earth to the Sun (1 astronomical unit = 149,597,870.7 km by IAU 2012 Resolution B2)	NASA Sun facts ("about 93 million miles") science.nasa.gov/sun/facts	Public domain (NASA); the AU is an IAU definition	23 October 2026
8 min 19 s	Light time Sun to Earth, average	Derived: 1 AU ÷ speed of light, as checked in episode 3 episode page	Derived by Vishala Space	23 October 2026
484 million mi, average	Jupiter to the Sun	NASA Jupiter facts science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-facts	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
about 2 to 4 AU	Asteroid belt, distance from the Sun (a convention)	NASA NSSDC, asteroids introduction nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/text/asteroids.txt	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
about 4.2 light-years	Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun	NASA Hubble, compass and scale image for Proxima Centauri science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/compass-and-scale-image-for-proxima-centauri	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
about 27,000 light-years	Sun to the centre of the Milky Way (8,277 pc)	GRAVITY Collaboration 2022, Astronomy & Astrophysics 657, L12 doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142465	Fact from a peer-reviewed paper, cited	23 October 2026
about 100,000 light-years	Milky Way, across the bright disc (a convention, no hard edge; About page)	NASA, Galaxies ("more than 100,000 light-years") science.nasa.gov/universe/galaxies	Public domain (NASA)	23 October 2026
Planet positions on the map	Directions of the planets around the Sun, today	JPL, Keplerian elements for approximate positions of the major planets (Standish, table 1), solved for the true longitude on the visitor's date; distances on the map are not to scale ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html	Public domain (NASA/JPL); approximate	23 October 2026

Credits, as each provider asks for them

NASA. NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material. Use does not imply endorsement by NASA; no NASA logos are used. www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media
NASA/JPL. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech. www.jpl.nasa.gov/jpl-image-use-policy
JPL Horizons. Giorgini, JD and JPL Solar System Dynamics Group, NASA/JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/ (data retrieved for each episode on the dates in its notes). ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons
NASA SDO (Sun image on the map). Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/rules.php
Earth, clouds and night maps. NASA Visible Earth, Blue Marble (land and clouds) and Black Marble (night lights), public domain. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory. visibleearth.nasa.gov/collection/1484/blue-marble
Moon map. NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, CGI Moon Kit (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data), public domain. svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720
SIMBAD (used in episode 5). This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France. Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9. simbad.cds.unistra.fr
VizieR (used in episode 7). This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France (DOI 10.26093/cds/vizier). Ochsenbein et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 23. vizier.cds.unistra.fr
ESA Gaia DR3 (episodes 3-5 only). Credit: ESA, Gaia DPAC. Licence CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/igo/). Gaia values are used in the episodes and listed in their YouTube descriptions; they are not republished on this website. www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr3
BIPM / CGPM, IAU, NIST. Definitions (speed of light, metre, astronomical unit, Julian year) cited from the BIPM SI Brochure (CC BY 4.0), IAU resolutions and NIST. www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure
USGS. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey. www.usgs.gov/information-policies-and-instructions/copyrights-and-credits
NOAA. Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration. oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
Wikipedia (city coordinates, road lengths in episode 4). Facts checked against Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA 4.0 text, not copied); courtesy credit. en.wikipedia.org

Episode sources

Every episode lists its own data in its notes. These are the credits of the episodes that are out:

Episode 1 · If Earth Were a Marble, the Moon Is 30 Inches Away

Sizes and distances: NASA planetary fact sheets (nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet). Voyager 1 distance: NASA/JPL (about 170 AU, late 2026). Proxima Centauri distance (about 4.2 light-years): NASA, Hubble compass and scale image for Proxima Centauri (science.nasa.gov). Artemis II distance record (252,756 miles, 6 April 2026): NASA news release “NASA's Artemis II Crew Eclipses Record for Farthest Human Spaceflight”. Lunar laser ranging: Apollo 11, 14 and 15 retroreflectors. Earth: NASA Blue Marble and Black Marble. Moon: NASA LRO. Sun: NASA SDO (AIA 304), courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Mars: NASA Viking. Other planet surfaces are illustrative; small glows are added so tiny planets can be seen. The galaxy and star fields are schematic. Everything is rendered in our own engine from that data. Numbers are rounded for speech; exact values are shown on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.

Episode 2 · Every Planet Fits Between Earth and the Moon (Only on Some Days)

Planet sizes and rotation: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, planetary physical parameters (ssd.jpl.nasa.gov). Moon distance, hour by hour: NASA JPL Horizons (Moon seen from the Earth's centre, DE441). Saturn's main rings: outer A-ring edge at 2.27 Saturn radii (Porco et al. 1984). Lunar laser ranging: retroreflectors of Apollo 11, 14 and 15 and Lunokhod 1 and 2. Planet maps: Jupiter, NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute (Cassini, PIA07782); Mercury, NASA/JHU APL/Carnegie Institution (MESSENGER, PIA15063); Saturn, Neptune, Venus and Pluto, NASA 3D Resources; colours toned. Uranus is illustrative. Earth: NASA Blue Marble and Black Marble. Moon: NASA LRO. Mars: NASA Viking. Small glows are added so tiny planets can be seen. The galaxy and star fields are schematic. Everything is rendered in our own engine from that data. Numbers are rounded for speech; exact values are shown on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.

Episode 3 · Light Leaves the Sun. Here Is How Long It Takes to Reach Everything

Planet distances: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics, approximate planetary elements (ssd.jpl.nasa.gov); Ceres and Pluto: NASA JPL Small-Body Database. Earth-Sun, Earth-Mars and Voyager 1 distances: NASA JPL Horizons. Distance of Proxima Centauri: ESA Gaia DR3 parallax (Credit: ESA, Gaia DPAC; CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO). Andromeda distance: NASA. Speed of light: exact by definition (17th CGPM, 1983; NIST). History: Bradley 1729 (MacTutor), Fizeau 1849, Foucault 1862 and Michelson 1926 values, NBS 1972 laser measurement (NIST SP 958). GPS altitude: GPS.gov; relativity correction about 38 microseconds a day (GPS World). Grace Hopper nanosecond wires: Smithsonian. Parker Solar Probe closest approach 24 Dec 2024, 6,167,590 km from the surface (NASA; Guinness World Records). Energy leaving the Sun's core: about 170,000 years in one model (Mitalas & Sills 1992); estimates vary widely. Perseverance landing 18 Feb 2021, one-way light time 11 min 22 s (NASA). New Horizons signal after the Pluto flyby, about 4 h 25 min (JHU APL); data return finished 25 Oct 2016 (NASA). Planet maps: Jupiter, NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute (Cassini, PIA07782); Mercury, NASA/JHU APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington (MESSENGER, PIA15063); Saturn, Neptune, Venus and Pluto, NASA 3D Resources; colours toned. Earth: NASA Blue Marble and Black Marble. Moon: NASA LRO. Mars: NASA Viking. The Sun's surface, Uranus and Ceres are illustrative. Planets are shown at their real places on 1 January 2027 (an example date) at true size; small glows are added so tiny planets can be seen. Star directions, the galaxy and the star fields are schematic. Everything is rendered in our own engine from that data. Numbers are rounded for speech; exact values are shown on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or ESA.

Episode 4 · One Light-Year, Laid Along a Real Road

Speed of light: exact by definition (17th CGPM, 1983); the light-year uses the IAU Julian year (365.25 days). Earth mean radius 6,371 km: NASA NSSDC Earth fact sheet. City coordinates: Wikipedia infoboxes; E11 road length: Wikipedia; the road in the video is the great circle from Dubai through Mumbai, drawn as a glowing line on the real Earth (schematic); the highway is drawn as the straight line between the two cities. The ruler ladder, the light-day and light-year spheres and the galaxies at marble scale are drawn in our own engine from NASA JPL distances. Voyager 1 speed and distance: NASA JPL Horizons (1 Nov 2026). Parker Solar Probe speed: NASA. Proxima Centauri distance: ESA Gaia DR3 parallax (Credit: ESA, Gaia DPAC; CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO). Milky Way and Andromeda sizes and distance: NASA. Planet orbit sizes: NASA JPL. Earth imagery: NASA Blue Marble and Black Marble (toned); Moon: NASA LRO. The marble, the road, the Sun ball, the galaxies and the star fields are rendered in our own engine at ruler scale and are illustrative. Every number is spoken exactly as it appears on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or ESA.

Episode 5 · The 20 Nearest Stars, Measured, Not Guessed

Star distances (parallaxes): ESA Gaia DR3 (Credit: ESA, Gaia DPAC; Gaia Collaboration, Vallenari et al. 2023, A&A 674, A1; CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO), read through the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg (Wenger et al. 2000). Alpha Centauri A+B distance and orbit: Akeson et al. 2021, AJ 162, 14. Sirius A and B: Bond et al. 2017, ApJ 840, 70. Procyon and the Sirius comparison value: Hipparcos (Credit: ESA; van Leeuwen 2007). Procyon masses: Bond et al. 2015. Epsilon Indi B: Chen et al. 2022. EZ Aquarii parallax: Torres et al. 2010 compilation. Luyten 726-8 system parallax and the closest-approach figures: Wikipedia, List of nearest stars. 10-parsec census: Reylé et al. 2021, A&A 650, A201. Proxima's flare: MacGregor et al. 2021, ApJL (NRAO). Proxima's orbit: Akeson et al. 2021. Planet counts and host masses: NASA Exoplanet Archive, operated by Caltech under contract with NASA. Voyager 1 speed: NASA JPL Horizons (1 Nov 2026); Voyager 1 and Gliese 445: NASA. Planet orbit sizes: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics. Earth, Moon and planet surfaces: NASA (Blue Marble, Black Marble, LRO, Viking), Jupiter NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, Mercury NASA/JHUAPL/Carnegie Institution of Washington, Saturn, Neptune, Venus and Pluto from NASA 3D Resources. The 1910/1915 photographic plates are recreated in our own look, not the original plates. Star colours follow measured temperatures; sizes and glows are not to scale; exaggerations and sped-up clocks are marked. All 3D is rendered in our own engine. Every number is spoken exactly as it appears on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or ESA.

Episode 6 · You're Moving 830,000 MPH Right Now. Why Can't You Feel It?

Earth's size, rotation and orbit: NASA NSSDC Earth Fact Sheet. The Sun's speed around the galaxy: Reid et al. 2019, ApJ 885, 131 (BeSSeL maser parallaxes); NASA StarChild (older value). Distance to the galactic centre: GRAVITY Collaboration 2019 and 2021. Solar-system acceleration: Gaia Collaboration, Klioner et al. 2021 (Gaia EDR3; Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC). The Sun's motion and height: Schönrich, Binney and Dehnen 2010; Bennett and Bovy 2019. Cosmic microwave background dipole: Planck Collaboration 2018 (ESA). Local Group motion: Kogut et al. 1993 (COBE). Andromeda: van der Marel et al. 2012 (HST); Sawala et al. 2025 (Nature Astronomy); Wu et al. 2026. Planet positions: NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics. Sky backdrop: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, Deep Star Maps 2020, built with ESA/Gaia/DPAC (Gaia DR2), Hipparcos-2 and Tycho-2 data. Earth and planet surfaces: NASA (Blue Marble, Black Marble, LRO, Viking, JPL, NASA 3D Resources). The Milky Way and Andromeda are model shapes (the Sun's distance, speed and orbit are measured); the CMB sphere is drawn from the published dipole numbers with exaggerated colours; sped-up clocks and widened loops are marked on screen. All 3D is rendered in our own engine. Every number is spoken exactly as it appears on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA or ESA.

Episode 7 · The Milky Way From Outside, Built Only From Measured Stars

Spiral-arm masers and the Sun's speed: Reid et al. 2019, ApJ 885, 131 (BeSSeL Survey, VLBA; VizieR J/ApJ/885/131). Cepheids and the warp: Skowron et al. 2019, Science 365, 478 and Acta Astronomica 69, 305 (OGLE; VizieR J/other/Sci/365.478). HII regions: Anderson et al. 2014, ApJS 212, 1 (WISE Catalog of Galactic HII Regions; VizieR J/ApJS/212/1). Bright stars: Hoffleit and Warren 1991, Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th edition (VizieR V/50). Distance to the centre and the black hole mass: GRAVITY Collaboration 2022, A&A 657, L12. The Sun's orbit: Feng and Jones 2018, MNRAS 483, 3971. The Sun's height: Bennett and Bovy 2019. Bar, disc and bulge values: Bland-Hawthorn and Gerhard 2016, ARA&A 54, 529. Warp: Chen et al. 2019, Nature Astronomy. Far-side maser: Sanna et al. 2017, Science 358, 227. Local Arm length and the second arm fit: Poggio et al. 2021; Gaia Collaboration, Drimmel et al. 2023; Xu et al. 2023 (facts quoted from the papers; Credit: ESA/Gaia/DPAC). Galaxy mass: Ou, Eilers, Necib and Frebel 2024. Geological ages: International Commission on Stratigraphy chart. Voyager 1 position: NASA JPL Horizons. Sky backdrop: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, Deep Star Maps 2020 (SVS 4851), built with ESA/Gaia/DPAC (Gaia DR2), Hipparcos-2 and Tycho-2 data. This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier). The spiral-arm lines, the pale blue disc under the data and everything beyond the centre except one point are models and are labelled on screen; the Sun's height and the galactic-year clock are sped up or enlarged and labelled. All 3D is rendered in our own engine. Every number is spoken exactly as it appears on screen.
Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs), script researched and written by Vishala Space.
Information, not advice. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA, ESA or any of the research teams named above.

Found a wrong number or a missing credit? Write to contact@vishalaspace.com; corrections are added here and on the episode page. Vishala Space is not affiliated with or endorsed by any data provider named on this page.