Common questions
What is GLEN actually rendering, a simulation or a photograph? ▾
Real-time simulation, not a photograph or pre-rendered video. GLEN uses custom GLSL shaders for every galactic class, each physically motivated. A G-class galaxy renders live convection cells, limb darkening, and chromospheric glow computed per frame on your GPU. A black hole renders the geodesic light-path equations of general relativity in real time the photon sphere, accretion disk Doppler shift, and gravitational lensing you would see from actual physics. Every frame is computed fresh on your hardware, on demand.
What does Student Mode include, and how is it different from Standard? ▾
Student Mode gives you access to a curated catalog at a price built for academic coursework. You get mostly all GLEN object types, galactic objects, pulsars, black holes, and exoplanets, which is more than enough for any class project, lab, or research paper. What it does not include is the complete deep catalog that the Standard tier unlocks. Standard is for serious explorers and researchers who need every object we have, with no restrictions. If you are a student doing coursework, Student Mode has everything you need.
Does this run on a Raspberry Pi or a classroom tablet? ▾
Yes. A Raspberry Pi 5 with a browser open to glen2.thegalaxydb.org handles GLEN at reasonable frame rates. The entire renderer is WebGL2 shader code delivered as a single file, no installed software, no cloud GPU, no IT department required. Schools build kiosks for under $100 in total hardware. A tablet or Chromebook works just as well. Rendering quality adjusts automatically to available GPU performance.
Is Family for one person or multiple people? ▾
Family is one account and one login, meant to be shared. Create an account and share your credentials with your family, and up to 7 devices can be active at the same time with no limit on what each person can do on their device. Your son can render on his PC while your daughter views the galaxies on her phone. Your spouse can examine a constellation while you peer at a black hole, all simultaneously. Render on devices owned by different people, or log in on all of your own devices at once. You have the flexibility to choose. If you need each person to have their own separate profile, Galaxy Diary, and history, you can purchase additional individual accounts or a second Family account. Academic provides fully managed individual accounts for teams and institutions of up to 200 users.
Can I cancel my subscription at any time? ▾
Yes. Monthly plans cancel at the end of the current billing period with no further charges. Annual plans are non-refundable for the current year but can be cancelled to prevent renewal. Your bookmarks and saved data remain accessible through the end of your paid period.
Can GLEN be embedded in a website, planetarium, or kiosk display? ▾
Yes, via iframe on Professional plans and above. The URL parameter system (/explorer.html?obj=NAME) makes deep-linking to any specific object straightforward for course pages, museum exhibits, or research portals. For institutional installations needing custom branding, event hooks, or kiosk mode for public displays, Institution licensing covers all of that. Contact us with your setup requirements.
How often is the catalog updated with new data? ▾
Our core catalogs are re-synced on major astronomical release cycles as new data becomes available. New exoplanet confirmations and pulsar discoveries are added on a rolling basis. GLEN shader updates, new object types, and render improvements ship more frequently and take effect immediately with no action required on your end.
Do I need an astronomy background to use TheGalaxyDB? ▾
Not at all. TheGalaxyDB was built for students, educators, science enthusiasts, and professionals alike. Each object page includes a plain-language description alongside the full technical catalog data. The filter system uses real spectral types but explains them in accessible terms. The deeper you want to go, the data is there, but you do not need to go deep to enjoy it.