The Scale of the Universe

The Scale of the Universe
Title screen of "The Scale of the Universe".
Title screen of the first edition
Developer(s)Cary Huang, Michael Huang
Composer(s)Kevin MacLeod, Cliff Martinez
EngineAdobe Flash
Platform(s)Web-based
Release2010
Genre(s)Edutainment

The Scale of the Universe is an interactive online visualization tool and website first created in 2010 by Cary and Michael Huang, two twin brothers from Moraga, California.[1][2][3][4][5] Released on Newgrounds and the Huang brothers' web page, it features a scrollbar that players can use to navigate through orders of magnitude and view various objects within such size ranges. Sliding the scrollbar to the left and right causes the screen to zoom in and out respectively, utilizing resolution independence in the process.[1]

In 2012, Cary and Michael Huang released a sequel titled The Scale of the Universe 2, in which clicking on objects brings up infoboxes that display information about them.[6][7][8]

The Scale of the Universe was featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on October 7, 2018.[9]

In 2020, animation studio Kurzgesagt released the app Universe in a Nutshell, which took inspiration from The Scale of the Universe.[10][11]

The main-belt asteroid 10003 Caryhuang was officially named by the International Astronomical Union on June 16, 2021, partly in recognition of Cary Huang's involvement in The Scale of the Universe.[2]

  1. ^ a b "'The Scale of the Universe,' by Two Teenage Brothers". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WGSBN-V1-3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Murphy, Dan (1 March 2012). "Something beautiful: Cary Huang's Scale of the Universe".
  4. ^ Wired Staff [3/1/12] - The Scale of the Universe: an Interactive Infographic
  5. ^ Michigan Radio Offbeat: Two 14 Year Olds Show Us The Scale Of The Universe
  6. ^ The Scale of the Universe 2. htwins.net
  7. ^ Hill, David J. (2012-04-15). ""The Scale Of The Universe 2" Animation Made By 14-Year-Olds Is Mind Blowing". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. ^ Rao, Mallika (2012-07-20). "'The Scale Of The Universe 2': Cary And Michael Huang Let You Scroll Through The Universe (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  9. ^ "APOD: 2018 October 7 - The Scale of the Universe Interactive". NASA. October 7, 2018. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  10. ^ @carykh (October 4, 2020). Hey Kurzgesagt! Hello from Scale of the Universe's Creator. YouTube. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  11. ^ VanderBorght, Mieke. "Universe in a Nutshell App Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved August 25, 2023.