Hey fellow space explorers and app developers!
I’ve spent countless hours getting lost in the sheer scale and beauty of SpaceEngine. It’s always been a massive inspiration to me. I wanted to see if I could bring a slice of that interactive, gravitational magic to the web and mobile, so I built Aether Gravity.
A little background: I actually built this using "vibe coding", combining React and Three.js. What started as an experiment turned into a fully-fledged 3D N-body physics simulator.
Here is what you can currently do in the engine:
- Real-time N-Body Physics: Create complex orbital mechanics with dozens of celestial bodies interacting simultaneously.
- Relativistic Black Holes: I implemented Kerr-type event horizons with gravitational lensing, relativistic Doppler shifting, and dynamic accretion disks.
- Spacetime Visualization: Toggle on the "Gravity Grid" to actually see how the mass of your custom stars and planets warps spacetime in real-time.
- Stellar Evolution: Watch stars go supernova, complete with shockwaves, or spawn Neutron stars with active pulsar jets.
- Scientific Metrics: The engine calculates Hill Spheres and Roche Limits on the fly, helping you build stable binary star systems or planetary rings without them tearing themselves apart.
- Procedural Planets: Rocky and gas giants with volumetric atmospheres, cloud layers, and axial tilt.
You don't even need to download it to try it. There is a web version link inside this github repository (https://github.com/AntonisPsarras/Aether-Gravity).
The Ask (Why I need your help!): I am currently trying to get Aether Gravity published completely free on the Google Play Store. However, Google requires me to have a small group of testers keep the app installed for 14 days before I can hit publish.
If you have an Android device and enjoy messing around with gravity mechanics, I would be incredibly grateful for your help!
To join the Android Beta:
- Join the Testers Google Group (Required for whitelisting): https://groups.google.com/g/aether-gravity-testers
- Download from Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aethergravity.app
The project is 100% open-source, meaning there are zero ads, zero trackers, and no shady permissions. If you want to poke around the code or contribute, the GitHub repo is here: https://github.com/AntonisPsarras/Aether-Gravity
You can find my youtube channel with the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mz26Qw0__Y
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the visual fidelity of the black holes and the stability of the physics engine!