Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

With 200,000 laser dots, this glass orb puts the Milky Way on your desk

Luke Dormehl
By
The Milky Way in a Sphere

In late 2016, Clemens Steffin launched a “Universe in a Sphere” project on Kickstarter. A bit like the memorable scene in Men in Black in which it’s revealed that our entire galaxy is simply swirls in a toy marble played with by some unimaginably giant alien, the “Universe in a Sphere” was a representation of our universe inside a glass orb. What made it so awesome was that Steffin used an industrial laser to individually laser 380,000 dots into the glass, each one representing its own galaxy. The results were pretty darn great, and 4,000 units have subsequently sold.

Recommended Videos

Now, Steffin is back with a new Kickstarter project — and, in contrast to most sequels, this time he’s thinking smaller instead of bigger. That’s because, instead of focusing on the entire observable universe, he is re-creating the Milky Way as its own instantly recognizable 8-cm glass desk ornament.

“We learned a lot — like a lot lot — from the first campaign,” Steffin told Digital Trends. “How to get yourself motivated, how to be more structured, how to build a company, how the tax laws in Germany work, how to organize packing, shipping, and so on. I have the feeling that everything will be a bit easier this time around because we know so much more. Last time was a challenge, but we overcame the hurdles and made it a success.”

Steffin says that the goal of the project was to re-create the Milky Way as accurately as possible. Steffin and his brother started out by using data from European Space Agency missions, and then combined this with additional infrared data, stellar density data, pictures, photos, and more to create a 3D prototype. There are 200,000 lasered dots in all, and — at least from our layperson perspective — the results look pretty amazing.

While all the usual rules about crowdfunding risks apply, if you do decide to pledge money for the project you can get hold of a Milky Way sphere for prices starting at 49 euros ($60). Other options costing more come with gift boxes, LED base plates, 3D-printed display bases, and more. Shipping is set to take place in July.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Luke Dormehl
Luke Dormehl
Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Starliner spacecraft just took a major step toward first crewed flight
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft being stacked on the Atlas V rocket.

A crane lifts the Starliner spacecraft to the top of an Atlas V rocket. Boeing Space

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has been stacked atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket ahead of its first crewed flight next month.

Read more
NASA needs a new approach for its challenging Mars Sample Return mission
An illustration of NASA's Sample Return Lander shows it tossing a rocket in the air like a toy from the surface of Mars.

NASA has shared an update on its beleaguered Mars Sample Return mission, admitting that its previous plan was too ambitious and announcing that it will now be looking for new ideas to make the mission happen. The idea is to send a mission to collect samples from the surface of Mars and return them to Earth for study. It's been a long-term goal of planetary science researchers, but one that is proving costly and difficult to put into practice.

The Perseverance rover has already collected and sealed a number of samples of Mars rock as it journeys around the Jezero Crater, and has left these samples in a sample cache ready to be collected.  However, getting them back to Earth in the previous plan required sending a vehicle to Mars, getting it to land on the surface, sending out another rover to collect the samples and bring them back, launching a rocket from the planet's surface (something which has never been done before), and then having this rocket rendezvous with another spacecraft to carry them back to Earth. That level of complexity was just too much to be feasible within a reasonable budget, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced this week.

Read more
Final communications sent to the beloved Ingenuity Mars helicopter
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is seen here in a close-up taken by Mastcam-Z, a pair of zoomable cameras aboard the Perseverance rover. This image was taken on April 5, the 45th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

Earlier this year, the beloved Mars helicopter Ingenuity ended its mission after an incredible 72 flights. Originally designed as a technology test intended to perform just five flights, NASA's helicopter was the first rotorcraft to fly on another planet and was such a success that it has already inspired plans for more exploration of distant planets using rotorcraft. Its mission came to an end, however, when it damaged one of its rotors, leaving it unable to safely fly.

Even then, the helicopter was still able to communicate by sending signals to the nearby Perseverance rover, which acted as its base station. Now, though, Perseverance is traveling away from the helicopter to continue its exploration of Mars. So this week, the NASA team on the ground met for the last time to communicate with Ingenuity, bringing the mission to a final close.

Read more