FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Games

Internet Game "Super Planet Crash" Lets You, Well, Simulate Planet Collisions

It's scientifically elegant and surprisingly addictive.

If you’re stoked on space (and dead tired) after watching the lunar eclipse and red moon last night, Super Planet Crash is the solution for both continued astral exploration and a moment of workday respite. It’s a browser-based simulation of our galaxy into which users can insert up to 11 earths, ice giants, and dwarf stars. They orbit around the sun, circling predictably, until the addition of the wrong ice giant in the wrong place results in a collision. When that happens, the game ends.

Advertisement

Stefano Meschiari, a postdoc astronomer at University of Texas Austin, said he hacked Super Planet Crash together over the weekend. By April 13, users created over 2 million solar systems, which explains why the game runs a little slow. Meschiari hopes the simulation will raise awareness about exoplanets and money for McDonald Observatory’s Science Education Fund.

When all the planets orbit peacefully, Super Planet Crash is an pastel piece of scientific, kinetic art. When they crash, it becomes educational, giving us the opportunity to try again, aiming to better understand how a complex, dynamic galaxy requires delicate cooperation to endure.

Play the game here, and get lost in the digital universe, man. www.stefanom.org/spc/

A galactic mishap.

h/t The Verge