Method before spectacle
Vastoscope is designed as an explanatory atlas, not a list of numbers. Each landmark declares what was measured, what kind of thing it is, how certain the boundary is and where the reference came from.
The main scale maps every landmark by log10(metres). Objects that differ by one order of magnitude are separated equally; objects that are close in real scale remain close. Empty regions are not silently compressed into equal object steps.
Objects have dimensions such as diameter, length or height. Distances measure separation or travel. Regions have diffuse or chosen extents. Limits describe conceptual or observational boundaries. Depths are directional distances, not physical objects.
Defined values are fixed by convention. Measured values come from observation. Representative values describe useful typical examples. Variable boundaries change. Model-dependent values rely on an inferred model. Record marks a documented extreme.
The comparison engine does not describe a distance as a larger “object”. It chooses language based on both entries, detects equal representative scales and changes visualization when side-by-side rendering becomes cognitively dishonest.
Side-by-side true scale is used only when both entries can remain visible. Extreme ratios switch to fit counts, deduplicated scale ladders or travel-time views. Whenever a visual is compressed, the interface says so.
Each object stores its source organization, URL and date checked. The catalog currently spans 30 external source hosts and rejects internal placeholder references during release verification.
The Discovery Passport, recent comparisons, challenge streak and expedition checkpoints use browser-local storage. No login is required and the package introduces no advertising or tracking pixel.
Core catalog content and sources remain server-rendered. Canvas, search pickers, procedural sound and offline caching enhance the experience when supported; reduced-motion, keyboard and no-JavaScript paths remain available.
Catalog accountability