Guide to Solar Time

Start here

1. Let the opening finishThe solar system settles into your saved or default view. You can skip or replay cinematic travel later.
2. Move the cameraDrag to rotate, use the wheel to move forward or backward, and select a body from the list along the bottom.
3. Choose how time flowsKeep Real time on for the live clock, or turn it off and set a faster rate in hours, days, or years per second.

Good first view: press 0 whenever you want to return to the home composition, then select Earth or Saturn from the footer.

Move and compose the camera

Default View restores the overview without erasing saved camera slots. Wheel movement changes camera distance; right-drag changes the lens in the ordinary view. During travel, right-drag up/down changes playback speed from 10% to 200%; the wheel changes viewing distance. In constellation viewing, the lens is fixed at 1.2× and wheel movement, middle-drag panning, and right-drag lens changes are disabled. Left-drag still rotates the view.

Control simulation time

The clock at the top follows the selected region. With Real time enabled, the model follows the current clock. Turn Real time off to use the lower slider. Click the unit button to cycle through hours, days, and years; Solar Time remembers the unit you last selected.

The available ranges are 1 minute–24 hours, 1–365 days, and 1–20 years advanced per real second. Planets follow elliptical paths, so their apparent speed varies across an orbit. The Moon, Europa, and Triton continue around their parent planets at the selected simulation time.

Select and inspect celestial bodies

Use the footer list to select the Sun, planets, Moon, Europa, Triton, and Pluto. The information card shows useful facts and body-specific controls. The left and right arrow keys move through the same list; when tracking is active, the camera transfers smoothly to the new target.

The normal overview adjusts sizes and orbit spacing so the whole system remains readable. True size ratio reduces those visual adjustments for comparison. Display Size changes individual bodies, while Orbit Spacing changes their visual separation. These controls affect presentation rather than rewriting the selected simulation date.

Explore Neptune and Triton

Open Neptune's card and enable Triton if it is hidden. Select Triton in the footer, then double-click the moon or use its close-up control to follow it. The Moon, Europa, and Triton each have a visibility switch on their parent planet's card.

In normal view, Triton starts at a display size comparable to Pluto; its size slider can go down to 50%, with 100% as the default. True size ratio uses its physical radius instead. Its tilted, retrograde orbit is retained in both viewing modes. The blue orbit identifies Neptune's satellite system; it is a display colour, not a physical property.

Triton's texture is an artistic reconstruction based on Voyager 2 imagery, with unobserved terrain completed. Read the texture credits and the Triton orbit note for the model's limits.

Earth and Venus include cloud controls. High-resolution surfaces are loaded as you approach a body, so a sharper texture may replace the first image after a short moment.

Explore constellations

The named sky includes 33 constellations, the Big Dipper pattern, and Polaris. Their directions stay fixed on the celestial sphere while you move the camera. For illustrated shapes and things to look for, open the Constellation Explorer.

1. Find a patternRotate the scene and rest the pointer over a named star or its connecting lines for about half a second. The guide draws in; unpinned lines fade over two seconds when you move away.
2. Open its cardClick the pattern to read its description. Enable Connecting lines to keep its guide visible after closing the card. Polaris uses a circular marker instead of a line figure.
3. Enter constellation viewingChoose Constellation mode in the card, or double-click the pattern. Use the card arrows or keyboard arrows to browse neighbouring patterns; shared-star groups stay together in the route.

* is the master switch for saved line displays, not a camera-mode switch. Turning it back on restores individually enabled guides; it does not enable patterns you switched off. A temporary hover can still reveal a pattern. Individual choices and the master setting are remembered when browser storage is available.

Selected or hovered guides use blue-white lines; other visible guides use softer gold. Lines draw progressively and then hold a steady brightness. Their colours indicate interaction, not the physical colour of the stars.

In constellation viewing, left-drag rotates the camera at a fixed 1.2× lens. The card's Show solar system switch fades a small solar system in or out; it is off by default and is available in Constellation mode. Choose Solar system mode to return to the previous camera, or press 0 for the default composition. Double-clicking the visible miniature also returns. Escape closes an open card first; with no card or dialog open, it returns from constellation viewing to the default view.

Browse without changing modes: in Solar system mode, click the constellation name to frame it at the viewing grid point. The card arrows and left/right keys continue through the catalogue while keeping Solar system mode. Card controls follow the selected interface language.

The seven added southern patterns are Centaurus, Carina, Vela, Triangulum Australe, Pavo, Grus, and Phoenix. Together with the existing Crux, they provide a southern-sky route to explore. All 29 targets are included once in the browsing cycle. New patterns have Connecting lines enabled by default; the * master switch still controls their combined display.

Opening, warp, and ring travel

Press W to warp from the current view, including during travel. Press T to start a journey, then cycle through Saturn, Uranus, and Mars, including during approach. The current travel speed carries into the next journey. T is unavailable during return; use 0 for the default view or Escape for the view saved before the journey. The UFO control opens the travel and opening menu.

Mars travel follows its surface; Saturn ring travel and Uranus ring travel approach the selected planet along a curved path, then continue around its rings. During the loop, use the other planet's Travel control or click its ring when the travel cursor appears to fly directly there without warp. Distant rings remain visible while nearby fragments give a sense of depth. Press Space to pause the cinematic camera. During the ring tour, a paused view can still be rotated for screenshots; during warp, manual camera control remains locked so the flight direction stays coherent. Press Space again to continue.

Opening and warp temporarily lock camera destinations and controls that would disrupt the sequence. During ring travel, selecting another planet to track or choosing an Earth region first returns through the default view, then approaches the new target. Press 0 for the default view or Esc to leave the tour smoothly; an open card or dialog may consume Escape first.

Choose what follows the opening

• Warp: performs the same action as W without changing the saved opening choice.
• Default: the opening ends at your saved or default camera view.
• Mars / Saturn / Uranus: the opening leads into one travel loop around that planet, then returns to your saved view.
• None: skips the camera opening on refresh. Selecting it leaves the current scene unchanged; an explicit Warp command still runs.

Selecting Default, Mars, Saturn, or Uranus starts a warp preview and saves the choice for the next refresh. Repeated selections are blocked during the sequence. Pause blocks new W and T journeys; resume first. H and F remain available during opening and warp.

Display, music, and viewing tools

For steadier performance, Solar Time automatically budgets particles and detail for the device. Closing other graphics-heavy tabs, leaving hardware acceleration enabled, and avoiding extreme browser zoom can also help.

Keyboard shortcuts

Troubleshooting

Pressing * does not reveal a pattern

The master switch respects each pattern's saved Connecting lines setting. Hover over the pattern, click to open its card, enable its individual display, then check the master switch. A pattern behind the camera will only appear after you rotate toward it.

A constellation looks different from another star chart

Connecting lines are visual guides, not official sky boundaries. Different charts connect the same stars differently, and camera rotation can turn the figure upside down. Compare its main stars in the illustrated catalogue.

The view feels lost or too close

Press 0 to restore the default view. If the lens still feels unusual, right-drag until the magnification indicator returns to a comfortable value.

A texture looks soft

Stay near the selected body for a moment. Detailed textures load progressively and may take longer on a slow connection or a device with a limited graphics budget.

Music or an alarm is silent

Interact with the page once and check the browser tab, operating-system volume, and site autoplay permission. A user gesture is required by many browsers before audio can begin.

A cinematic control is disabled

Finish or exit the current opening, warp, or travel sequence. Controls that could break the camera composition are intentionally restored afterward.

Settings did not persist

Local preferences depend on browser storage. Private browsing, storage cleanup, or restrictive browser settings can reset them. Solar Time does not require an account.

Still need help? Send the browser name, device type, and steps that reproduce the issue to Lyrikey@Naver.com.