FICTION · illustration
PARALLAX LOG
A ship's log from Earth toward Andromeda, one day at a time.
365 days. 2.54 million light-years. Every day, two short stories from the ark ship NOAH, told by its AI, Vesper, with real data, honestly labeled estimates, and credited images. Once a week, a full-length episode.
The ship departs on December 31, 2026. Day 1 goes live on January 1, 2027 (13:00 UTC · 8:00 a.m. US Eastern), then one new day every day at that hour until arrival on December 31, 2027.
Hero image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI — Webb NIRCam, “Cosmic Cliffs” in the Carina Nebula (NGC 3324). A real image.
How it works
1 · A shell of space per day
Each day the ship crosses a shell of space around the Sun. The shell grows with the trip: about 7 light-years in week one, and many times more each week after, until Andromeda on day 365.
2 · Real objects, real sources
Stars, planets, nebulae, clusters, dwarf galaxies and events inside that shell. Every fact carries its source, from NASA, ESA, Gaia and peer-reviewed papers.
3 · Two clocks
The ship's day counts our journey. The “Earth view” is different: the light we see left Earth years ago, so we always see Earth's past, never its present.
Real, estimated, invented
Only one thing here is invented: the Parallax drive that makes the trip possible, plus the ship's telemetry and Vesper. Everything else is labeled.
REAL DATA ESTIMATE UNCONFIRMED FICTION
Every image credited
NASA, ESA and other images are credited where they appear. Our own illustrations are labeled as illustrations, not photographs.
Corrections welcome
Astronomy changes. When a primary source updates a value, we update the page, keep the date and note it in the corrections log.
Follow the journey
Watch the Shorts and weekly episodes on YouTube, then come here to check every number and follow every source.