3D Earth view
A first-person view from an observer on Earth — you see only the light-delayed “ghost ship”, never its true location.
Because light travels at finite speed, the ship appears at its retarded position: where it was when the light you see now left it. Its real position stays invisible; that light hasn’t arrived yet.
The ghost ship is the same ship you see in the 2D map (same color, same shape); what changes is the light reaching Earth. Its light is Doppler-shifted across the spectrum: receding, it stretches toward infrared so the ship dims toward black; approaching, a red ship’s hue rotates through orange, yellow, green, blue and (at the highest speeds) wraps back toward magenta. Nothing is clamped — at extreme speed the ship really does collapse to a near-invisible sliver or blaze out, exactly as the physics dictates.
Its shape uses the Terrell–Penrose photographed form by default (uncheck for textbook Lorentz contraction 1/γ). The observer-position switch (sidebar) chooses who is watching: on Earth the ship’s motion is radial, so you see a longitudinal distortion (approaching stretched, receding squashed); at the midpoint the motion is transverse, so the ship appears rotated by arcsin(β) — the classic Terrell effect. This 3D view also moves to that observer’s vantage.
At the midpoint observer you can zoom: scroll the 3D pane or use the +/− buttons. Zooming pivots on the ship — zoomed out the whole route is framed (Earth & asteroid near the edges); zoomed in the camera recenters on and follows the ship.
Toggle the view with the 3D button (top-left) or the 3 key.
“Earth time (local)” is Earth’s coordinate time t simultaneous with the ship’s true position.
“Ship time (observed)” from Earth is the ship’s proper time at the retarded (light-delayed) position.
The ghost ship is the same ship as the real one. Its light is Doppler-shifted (dims toward black while receding; runs red›orange›green›blue while approaching) and its shape uses the Terrell–Penrose photographed form by default (uncheck for textbook Lorentz 1/γ). Pick the observer with the radio below: on Earth the distortion is longitudinal; at the midpoint the ship appears rotated (transverse Terrell effect). Clocks stay Earth-frame references. Nothing is clamped — at high speed it can shrink to a sliver or blaze out white.