Skip to main content

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

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.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“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.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Record-breaking five rockets to launch in 24 hours today
SpaceX launches a Starlink mission in 2020.

Today could see a new record for space flight, as five separate rocket launches are scheduled for one 24-hour period. The events involve four different providers and show the increasing pace of launches, covering missions including sending communications satellites into Earth orbit, creating short-duration microgravity environments for research purposes, and launching unknown payloads for governments.

The five launches today, Tuesday February 4, will be the highest number of launches in a single day if all go ahead as planned, as noted by Space.com. The first launch has already occurred, with SpaceX launching a Starlink mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 5:15 a.m. ET. This mission carries 21 Starlink satellites to add to SpaceX's communication network, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities.

Read more
Blue Origin’s latest rocket flight included a lunar-like experience
Blue Origin launches the New Shepard suborbital rocket on mission NS-29 in February 2025.

Blue Origin successfully performed its 29th New Shepard flight and 14th payload mission from Launch Site One in West Texas on Tuesday. While most of the recent New Shepard flights have had paying passengers aboard, this one carried science payloads rather than people.

https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1886867537771594113

Read more
Hubble spots a cosmic bullseye: a galaxy with nine rings
LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings — six more than any other known galaxy. High-resolution imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope confirmed eight rings, and data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii confirmed a ninth. Hubble and Keck also confirmed which galaxy dove through the Bullseye, creating these rings: the blue dwarf galaxy that sits to its immediate center-left.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured this striking image of an unusual galaxy with a bullseye structure, as nine rings surround its central point. Technically known as LEDA 1313424, the galaxy has more rings than any other known galaxy, and studying it is helping astronomers to learn how galaxies like this are created.

Along with the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i, astronomers used Hubble to see that there was not just one ring around this galaxy but many. "This was a serendipitous discovery," said lead researcher Imad Pashaof Yale University. "I was looking at a ground-based imaging survey and when I saw a galaxy with several clear rings, I was immediately drawn to it. I had to stop to investigate it."

Read more