Privacy Policy
1. Controller
Michael Spahr
Beim Fasanengarten 44
70599 Stuttgart
Germany
E-mail: michael.spahr@web.de
2. Overview
The Universe Explorer is a private, non-commercial project. The site uses no cookies, no tracking, no analytics or statistics services, no advertising, no social media plugins and no external fonts. There are no contact forms and no user accounts. The map and all calculations run entirely in your browser.
3. Accessing the website (server log files)
When you access the site, your browser technically transmits data to the web server hosting it: IP address, date and time, requested file, amount of data transferred, HTTP status code, referrer URL, and browser and operating system. The web host briefly stores this information in server log files in order to deliver the site and to ensure its operation and security. The data is not combined with other data or analysed with regard to individuals.
The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is the secure and error-free provision of the website. The web host processes the data on our behalf as a processor (Art. 28 GDPR). The log files are deleted automatically after the host's retention period.
4. Storing language and colour scheme in your browser
When you switch between German and English or between light and dark mode, the site stores your
choice in your browser's local storage (localStorage, key lang with value
de or en, and key thema with value hell or
dunkel). These entries never leave your device and are not transmitted to us. Storing it is strictly necessary
for the function you requested (§ 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG). You can delete them at any time in your
browser settings (“clear site data”).
5. Object photos from third-party servers
When you point at an object on the map or tap it, your browser loads the corresponding photo directly from the respective provider's server. No photos are loaded until you select an object. When loading, the provider technically receives your IP address, date and time, and information about your browser and operating system. The site sends no referrer, so the provider does not learn which page the request comes from. We have no influence on further processing by the providers.
The photos come exclusively from these two providers:
- Wikimedia Foundation Inc., San Francisco, USA (commons.wikimedia.org, upload.wikimedia.org) – privacy policy
- Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), Université de Strasbourg / CNRS, France (alasky.u-strasbg.fr) – legal notice
The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is to illustrate the objects on the map with photos without copying them ourselves. For providers outside the EU (e.g. the Wikimedia Foundation in the USA), your IP address may be transferred to a third country for which no level of data protection equivalent to the GDPR is guaranteed.
6. External links
The site contains links to Wikipedia and other websites (e.g. via “Open Wikipedia” or the “Info” menu item). The external page is only loaded when you click such a link; from then on, the privacy policy of the respective provider applies.
7. Your rights
You have the following rights with regard to your personal data:
- Access (Art. 15 GDPR)
- Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
- Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
- Restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
- Data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
- Objection to processing (Art. 21 GDPR)
To exercise them, simply contact the e-mail address above. As we do not store any personal data ourselves, in practice this only concerns the host's server log files.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority
(Art. 77 GDPR). The competent authority is:
Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg
Lautenschlagerstraße 20, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany
www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de
Last updated: September 2026