Orbit 1 / 20
Jump one Galactic year
Years ago on planet Earth
0
Present day
Galactic time spans are vastly longer than the time scales we experience as humans.
On Earth, a year is defined as the time it takes our planet Earth to complete one full orbit around our star, the Sun.
In a similar way, we can define a Galactic year as the time it takes the Sun to complete a full orbit around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
In the view below, you see the Milky Way galaxy from above, as though observing it from outside the galaxy. The yellow dot marks the position of our Sun and solar system.
By dragging it along its orbit, you can travel backward in time and discover what was happening on Earth at different stages of its vast journey through space and time.