AstroTable

A prototype Tilty/Spinny Table by Onomy Labs, Inc.

Scott Minneman of Onomy Labs showing the SCISS Uniview Space Exploration application using the Onomy Tilty/Spinny Table at a Swissnex event on Media Facades. We've dubbed this powerful and novel combination the AstroTable. You navigate around the universe with the AstroTable by physically tilting the tabletop to move in right ascension and declination (or longitude and latitude if you think that way), and spin the tabletop to zoom closer and further from a target location (typically set to the Earth, but check out the Moon, the International Space Station, and Mars over the course of the video clip embedded below). It's a very intuitive way to work with this application and navigate around the Universe in ways seldom before available to the public.

Uniview is all about full-on universe fly-throughs, with all of the entities correctly positioned and moving in a time-correct fashion. The table's quickly-learned interface lets users traverse the known Universe and explore myriad features of what scientists currently know about the vast expanse of space. This application blows simple constellation viewers like Google Sky right out of the sky -- you can view the workings of the solar system, see the other planets and moons, check out the Oort Cloud, look at the structure of the Milky Way, and zoom out to the furthest reaches of space and see the millions of other galaxies,

Turning layers on and off at appropriate points in users' journeys highlight different observable phenomena, like the paths of planets and spacecraft, lines and sketches of constellations, and much more. Current surface datasets of the planets and moons are available, and are really stunning. Pop-up labels and descriptions will help people understand what they're seeing. Talk to us about getting one for your museum, lobby, or school, perhaps even your living room!