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The Celestial Zoo: A Map of 200+ Objects in Our Universe

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Detailed Map of Outer Space and the Known Universe

View a larger version of this graphic. For a full-size option or to inquire about posters, please visit Pablo Carlos Budassi’s website.

The Celestial Zoo: A Map of 200+ Objects in our Universe

Humans have been observing the universe for thousands of years.

And while we havenโ€™t figured out all the answers quite yet, weโ€™ve made some remarkable discoveries when it comes to learning about outer space.

What are some of the most notable observations that scientists have discovered so far? This map of outer space by Pablo Carlos Budassi highlights more than 200 celestial objects in our universe and provides details and facts about each one.

The Types of Celestial Objects Mapped

To create this graphic, Budassi used a combination of logarithmic astronomical maps from Princeton University, as well as images from NASA.

The visualization highlights 216 different celestial objects that are color-coded and organized into five overarching categories:

  • Moons and Asteroids
  • Planets
  • Galaxies
  • Star System
  • Great Scales/Superclusters

At the center of the map is the Sun, which is the largest object in our Solar System. According to NASA, the Sunโ€™s volume is equivalent to 1.3 million Earths. The Sun is the powerhouse of life here on Earthโ€”its energy provides our planet with a mild, warm climate that keeps us alive, keeping the Earth from becoming a frozen rock.

While the Sun is the only star in the Solar System, there is a neighboring star system called Alpha Centauri thatโ€™s approximately 4.37 light-years away. Itโ€™s made up of three starsโ€”Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B.

Proxima Centauri, as the Latin name indicates, is the closest of the three to Earth and has an Earth-sized planet in its habitable zone.

The Life of a Star

In a starโ€™s early stages, itโ€™s powered by hydrogen. However, when its hydrogen stores are depleted, some stars are able to fuse helium or even heavier elements.

Stars similar to the size of the Sun will grow, cool down, and eventually transform into a red giant. The Sun has about 5,000 million more years before it reaches its red giant stage, but when that happens, it will likely expand to the point where it swallows up the Earth.

While stars emit energy for years, itโ€™s important to note that they donโ€™t shine for eternity. Their exact life span depends on their size, with bigger stars burning out faster than their smaller counterparts.

But as light from distant objects millions of light-years away takes a long time to reach us here on Earth, the largest of stars shine for hundreds of millions of years after they die.

Just How Big is Our Universe?

Some experts believe that the universe is infinite, while others argue that we canโ€™t yet know for certain because current measurements arenโ€™t accurate enough.

However, scientists believe that our observable universe extends about 46 billion light-years in every direction, giving it a diameter of roughly 93 billion light-years.

But just how much of the universe extends beyond what we can see? We may never find out.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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All of the World’s Spaceports on One Map

This map is a comprehensive look at both existing and proposed spaceports and missile launching locations around the world.

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Mapped: The World’s Rocket Launch Sites

From Sputnik 1 to today’s massive satellite constellations, every object in space was launched from just a handful of locations.

The map above, from BryceTech, is a comprehensive look at the world’s spaceports (both orbital and sub-orbital) as well as ballistic missile test sites.

โ„น๏ธ In sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft reaches outer space, but it doesn’t complete an orbital revolution or reach escape velocity. In orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft remains in space for at least one orbit.

The World’s Major Spaceports

Though the graphic above is a detailed list of many types of rocket launch sites, we’ll focus on major sites that are sending satellites and passengers into sub-orbit, orbit, and beyond.

Launch FacilityLocationCountry
Cape Canaveral Space Force StationFlorida๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Cape Canaveral SpaceportFlorida๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Kennedy Space CenterFlorida๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Cecil Field SpaceportFlorida๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Colorado Air & Space PortColorado๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Vandenberg Air Force BaseCalifornia๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Mojave Air and Space PortCalifornia๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Oklahoma Air & Space PortOklahoma๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Poker Flat Research RangeAlaska๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Pacific Spaceport ComplexAlaska๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Spaceport AmericaNew Mexico๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Launch Site One (Corn Ranch)Texas๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Houston SpaceportTexas๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Midland Air & Space PortTexas๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
SpaceX Development and Test FacilityTexas๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
SpaceX StarbaseTexas๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Spaceport CamdenGeorgia๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Mid-Atlantic Regional SpaceportVirginia๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Wallops Flight FacilityVirginia๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ U.S.
Reagan Test SiteKwajalein Atoll๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ Marshall Islands
Naro Space CenterOuter Naro Island๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea
Sohae Satellite Launching StationNorth Pyongan Province๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต North Korea
Kapustin YarAstrakhan Oblast๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
Plesetsk CosmodromeArkhangelsk Oblast๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
Vostochny CosmodromeAmur Oblast๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
Yasny Launch BaseOrenburg Oblast๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
Arnhem Space CentreNorthern Territory๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
Whalers Way Orbital Launch ComplexSouth Australia๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
Koonibba Test RangeSouth Australia๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
Bowen Orbital Spaceport Queensland ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1Wairoa District๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand
Baikonur CosmodromeBaikonur๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan
Space Port OitaลŒita๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Tanegashima Space CenterKagoshima๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Uchinoura Space CenterKagoshima๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Taiki Aerospace Research FieldHokkaido๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Hokkaido SpaceportHokkaido๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Ryori Launch SiteIwate๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
Sonmiani Satellite Launch CenterBalochistan๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan
Integrated Test RangeOdisha๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching StationKerala๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India
Satish Dhawan Space CentreSriharikota๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India
Guiana Space CentreKourou๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ซ French Guiana
Barreira do Inferno Launch CenterRio Grande do Norte๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil
Alcรขntara Space CenterMaranhรฃo๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil
Stasiun Peluncuran RoketWest Java๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia
Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterGansu Province๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
Taiyuan Satellite Launch CenterShanxi Province๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
Wenchang Spacecraft Launch SiteHainan Province๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
Xichang Satellite Launch CenterSichuan Province๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
Palmachim AirbaseCentral District๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel
Imam Khomeini Space Launch TerminalSemnan๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran
Qom Lauch FacilityQom๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran
El Arenosillo Test CentreHuelva๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain
Spaceport SwedenLapland๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden
Esrange Space CenterLapland๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden
Andรธya SpaceNordland๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway
SaxaVord SpaceportShetland Islands๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Sutherland SpaceportSutherland๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Western Isles SpaceportOuter Hebrides๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Spaceport MachrihanishCampbeltown๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Prestwick SpaceportGlasgow๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Snowdonia SpaceportNorth West Wales๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Spaceport CornwallCornwall๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Orbex LP1Moray๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง UK
Spaceport Nova ScotiaNova Scotia๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada

Editor’s note: The above table includes all sites that are operational, as well as under construction, as of publishing date.

The list above covers fixed locations, and does not include SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ships. There are currently three active drone shipsโ€”one based near Los Angeles, and the other two based at Port Canaveral, Florida.

Two of the most famous launch sites on the list are the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) and Cape Canaveral (United States). The former was constructed as the base of operations for the Soviet space program and was the launch point for Earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. The latter was NASA’s primary base of operations and the first lunar-landing flight was launched from there in 1969.

The global roster of spaceports has grown immensely since Baikonur and Cape Canaveral were the only game in town. Now numerous countries have the ability to launch satellites, and many more are getting in on the action.

Wenchang Space Launch Site, on the island of Hainan, is China’s newest launch location. The site recorded its first successful launch in 2016.

Location, Location

One interesting quirk of the map above is the lack of spaceports in Europe. Europe’s ambitions for space are actually launched from the Guiana Space Centre in South America. Europe’s Spaceport has been operating in French Guiana since 1968.

Low altitude launch locations near the equator are the most desirable, as far less energy is required to take a spacecraft from surface level to an equatorial, geostationary orbit.

Islands and coastal areas are also common locations for launch sites. Since the open waters aren’t inhabited, there is minimal risk of harm from debris in the event of a launch failure.

As demand for satellites and space exploration grows, the number of launch locations will continue to grow as well.

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