Accessibility
Universe Finder is an independent educational site, and we want it to be usable by as many people as possible. This statement explains what we support today, where the limits are, and how to reach us if something isn't working for you.
Standard we aim for
We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA. We test regularly with automated tools (axe-core), which at present report no Level A or AA violations on our content pages and main interface. Automated testing only covers part of WCAG, and we have not yet completed a manual audit or testing with screen readers and other assistive technology — so we do not claim formal conformance. We welcome reports of anything we've missed.
What the site supports
- Full keyboard operation of the search box, including arrow-key navigation of results.
- Visible keyboard focus indicators on all interactive controls.
- The welcome and picture-of-the-day dialogs trap keyboard focus while open and close with the Esc key. The object-details panel moves focus to it when opened and also closes with Esc, but does not trap focus, since it sits alongside the map rather than blocking it.
- Descriptive labels and landmark roles for screen-reader users, and text alternatives for images.
- Respect for your operating system's “reduce motion” setting — camera moves become near-instant.
- Browser zoom is enabled, and text/background colours are chosen for sufficient contrast.
- All controls are real buttons and links that work without a mouse.
Known limitation: the 3D map
The interactive 3D flythrough is drawn on a WebGL canvas. Like most 3D graphics experiences, the free “fly around” navigation cannot be fully operated by a keyboard alone or conveyed through a screen reader. We have not hidden this — instead we provide an accessible alternative: a browsable directory of 248 notable objects (the Sun, the planets, bright named stars, and the complete Messier and Caldwell catalogues), each with its own text page. The interactive map also plots many thousands of fainter stars and deep-sky objects that the directory does not list individually, but the directory covers the notable, named objects the pages describe.
- Explore — a browsable, fully accessible directory of 248 notable objects.
- Constellations — those objects grouped by region of the sky.
- Each object has its own text page with facts, distance and imagery (reachable from the lists above).
- If your browser or device can't display WebGL at all, the site automatically offers these pages instead of a blank screen.
Within the map itself, you can also reach objects without free navigation by using the search box (type a name, use the arrow keys, press Enter) or by starting a guided tour.
Reporting a problem
If you hit an accessibility barrier — anything that stops you using the site — please tell us at contact@universefinder.com. It helps to include the page or feature, what you were trying to do, and your browser, operating system and any assistive technology you use. We aim to respond and, where we can, to fix issues promptly.
Ongoing work
Accessibility is not a one-time task. As Universe Finder grows we continue to test with automated tools and to improve keyboard and screen-reader support. This statement will be updated as that work continues.