For creators
Put the real solar system in your videos.
Record the 3D viewer, the planetarium, the zoom-out and the rocket game, and use what you film in your videos, streams and posts, monetised ones included. All we ask is a credit.
What you can do
Film anything in it, and post it anywhere.
- Record the viewer and its modes (the zoom-out, Astronomy mode, black holes, spacetime, eclipses), the planetarium and the Qmax rocket game, and take screenshots.
- Use them in YouTube videos and Shorts, livestreams, TikTok, Instagram, podcasts, talks and lectures, monetised or not.
- There is no fee, and you do not need to ask first.
- For broadcast television, cinema, paid adverts and shows for venues, write to hello@polyxmedia.com or see licensing for venues.
The credit
Two lines in the description.
Space visuals: Our Solar System, https://3dsolarsystem.online Imagery and data credits: https://3dsolarsystem.online/credits/
The second line credits the imagery and data under the viewer, from NASA, ESA, ESO, the USGS and many others. Many of them are under Creative Commons licences, which accept a link to a page that gives the credit (CC BY 4.0, section 3(a)(2)). On screen works too, if you prefer.
If your shot shows the streets and buildings close to the ground, add a third line, as OpenStreetMap asks: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
One thing to leave out
Fly the saucer or the sphere.
In fly mode, the saucer and the sphere are ours. The other craft in the picker, and every ship in Defend Earth, are fan-made models of designs that belong to film and television studios, so they are not ours to give permission for. Leave them, and Defend Earth, out of your videos.
Getting the shot
Made for clean footage.
Photo mode
Photo mode, in the controls panel (Photo in fly mode), sets the field of view, roll, brightness, contrast, saturation and vignette. Hide UI clears the screen, Pause stops the clock and Capture saves a PNG.
A link to your exact shot
More, then Share, then Copy link to this exact view gives a link that opens the same body, moment, clock speed, scale, overlays and camera. Put it in your description so viewers can pick up where you filmed.
Any moment from 1800 to 2200
The time machine, under the time presets, sets any date and time from 1800 to 2200 in your own time zone, and runs the clock faster or backwards: an eclipse, a planet parade or the sky on the day of a launch.
Real sizes and distances
The viewer opens at true scale, with the planets within 5 arcseconds of JPL Horizons. The Artistic view draws sizes and distances that fit on one screen, so say so if you film it. Every check is on the accuracy page.
Where to start
Each of these opens in the viewer.
The Earth from orbit
The Earth turning in real time, lit by the Sun from where it is right now, with its clouds, oceans and city lights.
Saturn and its rings
Saturn from Hubble's 2025 map, with its rings drawn from Cassini and Hubble data.
The zoom-out
One narrated flight from a street on Earth, past the planets, the stars and the galaxies, to the edge of the observable universe.
Into the Orion Nebula
Fly into the nebula and stay, inside a volume built from its photographs.
The night sky from where you are
Astronomy mode: the stars, the planets and the Milky Way over your own horizon, with the aurora drawn from the live Kp index.
A rocket to orbit
Build a rocket and fly it to orbit on real physics in Qmax. The first flight is free.
The paid parts
Filming the full version?
Most of it is free. The Qmax rocket game past its first flight, low flight over the Earth, the galaxy map and some modes after one free go are in the full version. If you are making a video, write to hello@polyxmedia.com with your channel and we will add the full version to your account.
Questions
Good to know.
Can I use it in a monetised YouTube video?
Yes. Monetised videos, Shorts, streams and posts are all fine, with the credit in the description.
Do I need to ask first?
No. There is no fee and nothing to sign. If you send us the link at hello@polyxmedia.com when it is out, we would like to see it.
Can I use the music?
Yes. The viewer's music is generated as it plays by our own code, so it is covered by the same credit.
Is it accurate enough for a science video?
The viewer opens at true scale, where sizes and distances are real and the planets come from the VSOP87 theory, within 5 arcseconds of JPL Horizons as seen from the Sun from 1800 to 2200. The accuracy page lists every check. The Artistic view draws sizes and distances that fit on one screen, so say so if you film it.
Can I use it on television, in a film or in an advert?
Write to us about broadcast, cinema, paid adverts and shows for venues. The licensing page covers venues, and we quote the rest.
Which ships can I fly in my video?
The saucer and the sphere. The other craft in fly mode's picker and the ships in Defend Earth are fan-made models of designs that belong to film and television studios, so they are not ours to give permission for.