Transparency
Data sources
Every figure on this site comes from a public dataset with a licence that allows this use, or from classical astronomy. Here is each one.
| Source | What we use | Period | Licence | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus DEM GLO-30 | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF, AWS Open Data) | 2011-2015 (TanDEM-X) | Copernicus WorldDEM-30 licence (free, worldwide, incl. commercial use) | Relief, cuts and 3D models produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved. The organisations in charge of the Copernicus programme by law or by delegation do not incur any liability for any use of the Copernicus WorldDEM-30 |
| EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 | s2cloudless 2016 (layer s2cloudless_3857) | 2016 | CC BY 4.0 | Satellite images: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0 |
| GeoNames | cities1000 (towns with 1,000+ people, with elevation) and countryInfo | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 | Towns from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) | |
| HYG Database v4.4 | Estrelas ate a magnitude 6,0 (posicao, magnitude, cor) | CC BY-SA 4.0 | HYG Database v4.4, David Nash (astronexus), CC BY-SA 4.0 | |
| NASA Black Marble 2016 (Earth at Night) | Luzes nocturnas da Terra, Suomi NPP VIIRS, cinzento, 3 km | 2016 | NASA Earth Observatory: reutilizacao livre, incluindo comercial, com credito | NASA Earth Observatory, Black Marble 2016 |
| NASA Eclipse Web Site (Fred Espenak) | Eclipses do Sol: data, tipo e paises da faixa (2027-2035) | 2027-2035 | Reproducao livre com o agradecimento indicado | Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC |
| NASA POWER | Climatology, monthly and daily point data (MERRA-2 / CERES SYN1deg) | 1991-2020 averages; 2020-2025 month by month; daily rain 1991-2025 | CC BY 4.0 (NASA open data) | Climate: the data was obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center POWER Project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division |
| OpenFreeMap | Vector base map (OpenStreetMap data) | ODbL 1.0 (OSM data) | Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenFreeMap | |
| OpenStreetMap | Viewpoints, trails, via ferrata, climbing, footbridges, rafting spots, places, parking, campsites and the river line around each place (Overpass API) | Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 | Viewpoints, trails, bridges and rivers around each place © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) | |
| OurAirports | airports.csv | Public domain | Airports from OurAirports (public domain) | |
| Stellarium sky culture modern_iau | Linhas das 88 constelacoes | CC BY-SA 4.0 | Stellarium, modern_iau sky culture, CC BY-SA 4.0 | |
| Wikidata | Places and gorges: names in 7 languages, published depth, length and width, elevation, river, protected area, World Heritage, images | CC0 1.0 (public domain) | Place names, published depths, lengths and rivers from Wikidata (CC0) | |
| Wikimedia Commons | Photographs of each place (Wikidata P18, Commons category, English Wikipedia article, geosearch) | Per file: public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only | Photos from Wikimedia Commons; author and licence under each photo | |
| flag-icons | Country flags in SVG (4:3) | MIT | Country flags from flag-icons (MIT licence) |
The places
From Wikidata (CC0): the items certified by DarkSky International (heritage designation P1435 and the DarkSky place ID P4977), dark-sky preserves, astronomical observatories, planetariums and deserts; and the mountains, islands, lakes, beaches and canyons of our sister atlases with the darkest skies.
Sky brightness
Our own model: each lit pixel of NASA Black Marble 2016 (Suomi NPP VIIRS, NASA Earth Observatory, free reuse with credit) spreads light to the sky around, falling with distance as d−2.2 up to 400 km, less at altitude. Fitted on 9 October 2026 to 18 published measurements (Paranal, Mauna Kea, Kielder, Alqueva, London…): about ±0.3 mag. The well-known Falchi 2016 atlas is licensed CC BY-NC and is not used.
Night, Moon, stars
Calculated with the classical algorithms of Jean Meeus (Astronomical Algorithms): the Sun, the Moon and its phases, lunar eclipses, the galactic centre. Stars from the HYG database v4.4 (David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0) and constellation lines from Stellarium (modern_iau, CC BY-SA 4.0); the files we derive keep that licence. Solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC.
Clouds and temperature
NASA POWER: cloud amount (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020) and temperature (MERRA-2, 1991–2020), monthly averages for a cell of about 55 km.
Horizon and altitude
Copernicus DEM GLO-90 and GLO-30 (© DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA): the horizon is the highest angle of the relief in 72 directions up to 30 km, with Earth curvature and refraction.
What is around
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): observatories, viewpoints, campsites, places to stay, car parks, street lamps — only inside the pages, never in downloadable files.
Images
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons, each with its author and licence. Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0).
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.You are here
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit 
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit