🌌 Exoplanet Discovery Hub

A modern, interactive web application for exploring exoplanets discovered by NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission. Features include real-time 3D visualization, mission planning calculations, and habitable zone analysis—all powered by live data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive.

🚀 Features

1. Interactive Overview

Real-time filtering by stellar type and distance
Comprehensive data table with 20+ exoplanet properties
Habitable zone status indicators
Summary statistics dashboard

2. 3D Star Map ⚠️ Work in Progress

Two View Modes: Star View (all exoplanet systems) and System View (individual planetary systems)
WebGL Rendering: Powered by Three.js for smooth 3D graphics
Interactive Controls:
- Mouse drag to rotate camera
- Scroll to zoom in/out
- Right-click drag to pan
- Click planets to zoom to their system
Visual Features:
- Color-coded by habitability (green = habitable, red = too hot, blue = too cold)
- Planetary orbits in System View
- Habitable zone visualization (shaded green ring)
- Hover labels showing planet names
- Our Sun's habitable zone (yellow ring)
Spatial Calculations: Real 3D coordinates from RA/Dec/Distance

⚠️ Known Issues: Some spatial calculations are still being refined. Planets may appear closer to our Sun than scientifically accurate. We're actively working on improving coordinate transformations and distance scaling.

3. Mission Planning Calculator

Select any TESS-discovered exoplanet
Calculate travel times at different velocities (0.1c, 0.5c, 0.9c)
Compare with conventional rocket technology
Mission feasibility assessment

4. Habitable Zone Analysis

Scientific habitable zone boundary calculations
Per-planet habitability classification
Stellar properties display
System-wide analysis

🎯 What's New (v2.0)

Major Improvements from v1.0

✅ Eliminated Pinia dependency → Lightweight Vue 3 composables
✅ Fixed SSR initialization errors → Disabled SSR for optimal performance
✅ Modern UI/UX redesign → Aerospace-focused dark theme with glassmorphism
✅ 3D Visualization → Custom Canvas-based star map with perspective projection
✅ Mission Planning → Theoretical interstellar mission calculations
✅ Habitable Zone Analysis → Scientific habitability classification
✅ Enhanced Data → 20+ properties per planet vs. 4 previously
✅ Better Performance → Removed PrimeVue, optimized rendering

Technical Upgrades

Vue 3 Composition API throughout
TypeScript with strict typing
Tailwind CSS for styling
lucide-vue-next for icons
Custom 3D rendering engine

📊 Data Sources

All data comes directly from the NASA Exoplanet Archive via their TAP (Table Access Protocol) service:

Source: https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/
Mission: TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
Query: Real-time SQL queries to the ps (Planetary Systems) table
Format: JSON
Update Frequency: Live data from NASA's continuously updated archive

Data Fields (20+ properties per planet)

Identifiers: Planet name, host star name
Discovery: Year, facility, detection method
Planetary Properties: Radius, mass, orbital period, semi-major axis, eccentricity, temperature
Stellar Properties: Temperature, radius, mass, spectral type
Positional Data: Right ascension, declination, distance
Calculated: 3D Cartesian coordinates, habitable zone status

🧮 Scientific Calculations

All calculations are documented with scientific references to ensure accuracy and reproducibility.

Habitable Zone Boundaries

Uses the Kopparapu et al. (2013) formulation for calculating conservative habitable zones:

Reference: Kopparapu, R. K., et al. (2013). "Habitable Zones Around Main-Sequence Stars: New Estimates." The Astrophysical Journal, 765(2), 131. DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/765/2/131

Formula:

// Step 1: Calculate stellar luminosity using Stefan-Boltzmann Law
L = (R_star / R_sun)² × (T_star / T_sun)⁴

// Step 2: Calculate effective stellar flux using 4th-order polynomial
// where T* = T_eff - 5780 K
Seff = S₀ + a×T* + b×T*² + c×T*³ + d×T*⁴

// Step 3: Calculate distance in AU
d = √(L / Seff)

// Conservative Habitable Zone (used in this application):
// Inner: Runaway Greenhouse (S₀ = 1.107)
// Outer: Maximum Greenhouse (S₀ = 0.356)

Coefficients (from Kopparapu 2013, Table 3):

Boundary	S₀	a	b	c	d
Inner (Runaway Greenhouse)	1.107	1.332×10⁻⁴	1.580×10⁻⁸	-8.308×10⁻¹²	-1.931×10⁻¹⁵
Outer (Maximum Greenhouse)	0.356	6.171×10⁻⁵	1.698×10⁻⁹	-3.198×10⁻¹²	-5.575×10⁻¹⁶

Example: For our Sun (R = 1.0 R☉, T = 5778 K):

Inner boundary: ~0.95 AU (Venus-like)
Outer boundary: ~1.67 AU (Mars-like)
Earth at 1.0 AU is comfortably within this zone ✓

Additional Resources:

Data Quality Safeguards

The NASA Exoplanet Archive sometimes contains inconsistent stellar parameters for newly discovered planets, particularly from TESS. When stellar radius (st_rad) or temperature (st_teff) values are incorrect or from multiple conflicting sources, the calculated habitable zone boundaries can be wrong.

Problem Example:

TOI-6478 b: Database stellar params suggest HZ at 0.08-0.15 AU, planet orbits at 0.11 AU → Classified as "habitable" ✗
Reality: Planet receives only 0.00034× Earth's sunlight, equilibrium temp is 204K (-68°C) → Frozen, not habitable ✓

Solution - Equilibrium Temperature Sanity Check:

To prevent false positives, we implement a two-stage verification process:

Calculate HZ boundaries using Kopparapu 2013 formulas (based on stellar parameters)
Verify with equilibrium temperature as a sanity check (based on actual energy received)

Temperature Thresholds:

// Conservative habitable temperature range
MIN_HABITABLE_TEMP = 235K  // -38°C
MAX_HABITABLE_TEMP = 350K  // 77°C

Rationale:

Lower bound (235K): Between Mars (210K, outer HZ edge) and confirmed habitable planets (269-280K). Filters out frozen worlds while allowing for reasonable greenhouse effects.
Upper bound (350K): Well above Earth's 288K surface temp. Allows for high albedo or thin atmospheres. Venus at 737K is clearly too hot.
Earth reference: 255K equilibrium (no atmosphere), 288K surface (with greenhouse effect)

Planets Filtered Out:

TOI-904 c: T_eq = 217K → Too cold (outside range)
TOI-6478 b: T_eq = 204K → Too cold (outside range)

Verified Habitable Planets:

TOI-700 d: T_eq ≈ 269K ✓
TOI-715 b: T_eq ≈ 280K ✓
TOI-2257 b: T_eq ≈ 278K ✓

Note: This is a data quality filter, not a definitive habitability assessment. Actual habitability depends on atmospheric composition, greenhouse effects, albedo, tidal locking, and many other factors.

3D Coordinate Conversion

Converts equatorial coordinates (Right Ascension, Declination, Distance) to Cartesian coordinates for 3D visualization:

Reference: Standard astronomical coordinate transformation (Murray, C. A., 1983. Vectorial Astrometry)

Formula:

// Convert degrees to radians
const raRad = (ra * π) / 180
const decRad = (dec * π) / 180

// Equatorial to Cartesian transformation
x = distance × cos(dec) × cos(ra)
y = distance × cos(dec) × sin(ra)
z = distance × sin(dec)

Coordinate System:

X-axis: Points toward RA = 0°, Dec = 0° (Vernal Equinox direction)
Y-axis: Points toward RA = 90°, Dec = 0°
Z-axis: Points toward Dec = 90° (North Celestial Pole)
Units: Parsecs (1 pc ≈ 3.26 light years)

⚠️ Known Limitation: The current 3D visualization uses a simplified Cartesian transformation. For a more accurate representation at scale, future versions may implement:

Proper motion corrections
Galactic coordinate system
Perspective-corrected scaling
Distance-dependent filtering

Note: Our Sun is at the origin (0, 0, 0). Distances are filtered to show only systems >30 parsecs away to prevent visual crowding.

System View Orbital Scaling

Planetary orbital distances are scaled using a square root function for better visualization:

// Actual orbital distance in AU
const actualDistance = planet.pl_orbsmax

// Scaled distance for 3D rendering (in scene units)
const scaledDistance = √(actualDistance) × 40

// Why square root?
// - Linear scaling: Distant planets too far to see
// - Logarithmic scaling: Close planets too close to star
// - Square root: Best compromise for visibility

Example (Jupiter at 5.2 AU):

Linear (×40): 208 units (too far)
Square root (×40): ~91 units (visible) ✓
Logarithmic (×30): ~51 units (too compressed)

Planet Size Scaling

Planets are scaled relative to their host stars for visibility while maintaining approximate proportions:

// Star radius: 8 scene units (fixed)
// Planet radius: based on Earth radii (pl_rade)
const planetRadius = Math.max(0.5, Math.min((pl_rade || 1) × 0.3, 2))

// Capped between 0.5-2 units (6-25% of star size)
// Real proportions: Jupiter ≈ 10% of Sun, Earth ≈ 1% of Sun

Note: Planet sizes are exaggerated for visibility. In reality, even Jupiter would be barely visible at these scales.

Mission Planning

Travel time calculations at fractions of light speed:

Formula:

// Convert distance from parsecs to light years
const distanceLY = distanceParsecs × 3.262

// Calculate travel time
travel_time_years = distanceLY / velocity_fraction_of_c

// Example: TOI-700 d at 31.1 pc (101.5 ly) at 0.1c
// travel_time = 101.5 / 0.1 = 1,015 years

Propulsion Scenarios:

0.1c: Theoretical nuclear fusion drives (e.g., Project Daedalus concept)
0.5c: Advanced antimatter or fusion ramjet (far future)
0.9c: Requires breakthrough physics (warp drive, etc.)
Conventional rockets (~50 km/s ≈ 0.00017c): Current technology baseline

Reference:

Project Daedalus: British Interplanetary Society (1978)
Interstellar travel physics: Forward, R. L. (1984). "Roundtrip Interstellar Travel Using Laser-Pushed Lightsails"

Reality Check: No spacecraft has exceeded 0.0002c to date (Voyager 1 at ~17 km/s)

📁 Project Structure

exoplanet-discovery/
├── app.vue                          # Main layout with header/footer
├── pages/
│   └── index.vue                    # Tab navigation
├── components/
│   ├── ExoplanetOverview.vue        # Overview tab
│   ├── StarMap3D.vue                # 3D visualization
│   ├── MissionCalculator.vue        # Mission planning
│   ├── HabitableZoneAnalysis.vue    # Habitability analysis
│   └── [Helper Components]          # UI components
├── composables/
│   └── useExoplanets.ts             # Main data logic
├── types/
│   └── exoplanet.ts                 # TypeScript definitions
├── server/api/
│   └── exoplanets.ts                # NASA API proxy
└── nuxt.config.ts                   # Configuration

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ or Node.js 20+
npm or yarn

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/chrisobo98/exoplanet-hub.git
cd exoplanet-hub

# Install dependencies
npm install

Development

# Start development server
npm run dev
# Server runs on http://localhost:3000 (or 3001 if 3000 is busy)

Production

# Build for production
npm run build

# Preview production build
npm run preview

# Generate static site
npm run generate

🛠️ Tech Stack

Technology	Purpose
Nuxt 3	Vue.js framework with SSR disabled
Vue 3	Reactive UI framework
TypeScript	Type safety
Tailwind CSS	Utility-first styling
Three.js	WebGL 3D graphics library
Axios	HTTP client for NASA API
lucide-vue-next	Icon library

📖 Documentation

Main Documentation

For detailed documentation including architecture, components, and data flow:

DOCUMENTATION.md - Technical overview and architecture

Scientific Calculations

For detailed scientific formulas, references, and contribution guidelines:

CALCULATIONS.md - All calculations with peer-reviewed references
- Habitable zone formulas (Kopparapu 2013)
- 3D coordinate transformations
- Visualization scaling methods
- Known limitations and areas for improvement
- How to contribute calculation improvements

Sources:

What Makes This Project Stand Out

🌐 Web-Based 3D: Full Three.js visualization in the browser - no downloads or installations required
📱 Mobile-First Design: Fully responsive interface that works on phones, tablets, and desktops
🔬 Scientific Transparency: Open-source Kopparapu 2013 formulas with full documentation and peer-reviewed citations
🚀 Educational Mission Planning: Unique interstellar travel calculator comparing theoretical propulsion systems
🎯 TESS Focus: Specialized for NASA's newest exoplanet discoveries (2018-present)
🆓 Completely Open Source: MIT licensed - fork it, learn from it, contribute to it
⚡ Modern Stack: Vue 3, Nuxt 3, Three.js, TypeScript - learn cutting-edge web development
🎓 Learning Tool: Perfect for students, educators, and space enthusiasts to explore real NASA data
📊 Comprehensive Documentation: CALCULATIONS.md explains every formula with academic references

Perfect For

🎓 Students & Educators: Interactive learning tool for astronomy and space exploration
🔭 Astronomy Enthusiasts: Explore real TESS discoveries with professional-grade visualizations
🚀 Aerospace Professionals: Understand mission planning concepts and habitability analysis
💻 Developers: Modern Vue 3 + Nuxt architecture reference, best practices in action
📊 Data Scientists: Advanced interactive data visualization techniques
🏫 Planetariums & Museums: Public display-ready interface with auto-rotation mode

📋 Release Checklist

Completed (v2.0)

Future Enhancements

Post-Release

Submit to Show HN / Product Hunt
Share on r/dataisbeautiful
Share on r/space and r/Astronomy
Post on Twitter/X with demo
Add to Awesome Vue list
Add to NASA's Third-Party Tools page
Create YouTube tutorial
Write blog post about architecture

Future Roadmap (v2.1+)

Implement data export (CSV, JSON)
Add chart visualizations (Chart.js)
Create comparison tool
Add saved filter presets
Implement server-side caching (Redis)
Add Docker support
Create mobile app (React Native)
Add more missions (Kepler, K2)
Implement user accounts (optional)

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to get started:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
```
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
```
Make your changes
- Follow the existing code style
- Add comments for complex logic
- Update documentation if needed

Test your changes

npm run dev
# Verify all tabs work correctly

Commit your changes

git commit -m "feat: add amazing feature"

Push to your fork
```
git push origin feature/amazing-feature
```
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Use TypeScript for type safety
Follow Vue 3 Composition API patterns
Add JSDoc comments for functions
Use semantic commit messages
Test on mobile devices

📝 License

MIT License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Data License: All exoplanet data sourced from NASA Exoplanet Archive is in the public domain.

🙏 Credits & Acknowledgments

Data Sources

NASA Exoplanet Archive - Caltech / JPL / NASA
TESS Mission - MIT / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
TAP Service - IPAC / Caltech

Technologies

Framework: Nuxt 3 / Vue 3
Styling: Tailwind CSS
Icons: Lucide Icons
Build Tool: Vite
Deployment: Vercel / Netlify

Inspiration

NASA mission control interfaces
SpaceX Dragon interface
James Webb Space Telescope operations UI
Aerospace-grade data visualization systems

Special Thanks

The NASA Exoplanet Archive team for maintaining excellent public API documentation
The TESS mission team for discovering thousands of exoplanets
The Vue.js and Nuxt communities for amazing open-source tools
All contributors and users who help improve this project

🔗 Links

Live Demo: exoplanethub.netlify.app
Documentation: docs/
GitHub Issues: Report a Bug
NASA Archive: exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu
TESS Mission: tess.mit.edu

📊 Project Stats

Built with ❤️ for space exploration and scientific discovery

"The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Version: 2.0.0 Last Updated: December 2025 Status: Active Development Maintained by: Exoplanet Discovery Hub Team

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
assets/css		assets/css
components		components
composables		composables
docs		docs
layouts		layouts
pages		pages
public		public
server		server
stores		stores
styles		styles
types		types
.gitignore		.gitignore
CALCULATIONS.md		CALCULATIONS.md
DOCUMENTATION.md		DOCUMENTATION.md
README.md		README.md
app.vue		app.vue
nuxt.config.ts		nuxt.config.ts
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
tailwind.config.js		tailwind.config.js
tsconfig.json		tsconfig.json

Latest commit

History

Folders and files

Repository files navigation

🌌 Exoplanet Discovery Hub

🚀 Features

1. Interactive Overview

2. 3D Star Map ⚠️ Work in Progress

3. Mission Planning Calculator

4. Habitable Zone Analysis

🎯 What's New (v2.0)

Major Improvements from v1.0

Technical Upgrades

📊 Data Sources

Data Fields (20+ properties per planet)

🧮 Scientific Calculations

Habitable Zone Boundaries

Data Quality Safeguards

3D Coordinate Conversion

System View Orbital Scaling

Planet Size Scaling

Mission Planning

📁 Project Structure

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Installation

Development

Production

🛠️ Tech Stack

📖 Documentation

Main Documentation

Scientific Calculations

What Makes This Project Stand Out

Perfect For

📋 Release Checklist

Completed (v2.0)

Future Enhancements

Post-Release

Future Roadmap (v2.1+)

🤝 Contributing

Development Guidelines

📝 License

🙏 Credits & Acknowledgments

Data Sources

Technologies

Inspiration

Special Thanks

🔗 Links

📊 Project Stats

About

Resources

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

Packages

Used by

Contributors

Languages