What this page is for
All the Myriad Worlds sits between reference work and authored interpretation. That means it helps to be explicit about where the project is drawing from source data, where it is making editorial decisions, and where the atlas is still incomplete. This page is a public guide to that boundary.
Astronomical data
On the exoplanet side, the project draws primarily from the NASA Exoplanet Archive, then shapes that material into local runtime datasets suitable for this site. Some branches are more curated than others. Nearby systems and landmark systems receive the most direct editorial attention. Kepler and TESS are broader survey views and still need deeper cleanup.
Primary Source
NASA Exoplanet Archive data and related mission-derived datasets.
Runtime Shape
Generated JSON and curated local datasets built for the atlas rather than shown raw.
Current Caveat
Not every exoplanet branch is equally clean or equally interpreted yet.
Sci-Fi mappings
The science-fiction atlas is not a scraped list of star names. It is a curated map of stories set at real stars, which means the work is interpretive. Associations are checked, false matches are removed, uncertain story details are allowed to remain unknown, and some material is excluded when the evidence is too thin.
That curation is intentionally conservative. If the project is unsure, it is better to omit a claim or leave a field blank than to imply certainty the source record does not support.
Editorial principles
- Clarity is preferred over cleverness.
- Curated omission is better than fake precision.
- Runtime datasets may be cleaned or normalized for public use, but they should remain defensible against source material.
- The atlas is allowed to be interpretive, but it should not become careless.
Where interpretation enters
Interpretation enters most strongly where the site is not simply visualizing astronomy data but building a literary or worldbuilding geography around it. That includes story-to-star associations, the shape of category systems, and the editorial framing of modals, summaries, and future features like Shared Worlds.
The goal is to make those interpretive choices legible rather than pretending the whole site is a neutral machine-readable index.
Where to go next
If you want the broader project context, start with the About page. If you want a public snapshot of what is still being cleaned up or built out, visit the Roadmap. For a running record of changes already made, use the Project Journal.