AN INTERACTIVE STUDY OF AIRPLANES AS THE CONSTELLATIONS OF AN URBAN NIGHT SKY

Modern Constellations

24 SIMULATED FLIGHTS · LOCAL DATA

Local dataset 24 simulated flights

Local JSON → Parse → Map values → Simulate position → Connect → Render

Seed 41031

12:00

Connection distance 1,200 km

Calculating temporary connections

Drag to orbit Scroll to reveal denser constellations Click a flight to pin

Selected flight

In transit

Altitude
Ground speed
Heading
Latitude
Longitude
Remaining

· Simulated telemetry

Underlying local object

About this project

Airplanes as modern constellations

Modern Constellations is an interactive flight-data visualization inspired by the urban night sky.

The project began at Gantry Plaza State Park, where airplanes were consistently more visible than stars. I began thinking about how urban infrastructure and technology change what we see when we look upward.

The visual system

Traditional constellations create imagined relationships between distant stars. This project applies the same logic to airplanes, translating flight positions into glowing points and connecting them into temporary patterns.

The flights themselves are not necessarily related. The constellation is created through the visualization.

How it works

Flight data Lat/Lon 3D coordinates Points Constellations

The original project used the AviationStack API to retrieve flight information. JavaScript processed the returned data and a coordinate-conversion function translated latitude and longitude into positions inside a Three.js scene.

Archived version

Originally built using live API data.

This portfolio version uses local simulated flight data so the interactive experience can remain available without relying on a paid external API.

Observational study

Gantry Plaza State Park

New York City

The project began with seven evenings of observational research. I spent one hour at the park each evening recording the airplanes and stars visible above the city.

17: faint stars
60: airplanes
31: appearing to head toward JFK
13: appearing to depart LaGuardia
5: high-altitude flights

The observations were intentionally treated as situated rather than scientifically exact. Weather, visibility and my own position affected what could be recorded. What remained consistent was the contrast: airplanes were much easier to see than the stars behind them.