Project Summary
The Moon Phases Visualizer is an interactive, educational interface that simulates the moon’s illumination cycle—from new moon to full moon and back—across global latitudes. Merging astronomy, CSS innovation, and minimalist design, it delivers a compelling browser-native lunar experience.
Interface Goals
- Visually illustrate the full 29.5-day lunar cycle.
- Represent how identical moon phases appear from different latitudes.
- Provide a responsive, accessible layout adaptable to all devices.
- Increase engagement through subtle animations and modern CSS effects.
Design Approach
The interface emphasizes clarity, realism, and elegance. A deep-black backdrop enhances the luminance contrast of each phase. The moon phases are laid out in a clean CSS Grid sequence, while shadow masks and illumination levels are generated using advanced CSS properties—avoiding image sprites entirely. For unsupported browsers, JavaScript polyfills provide graceful degradation.
Key Features
<moon-phase>custom web component with real-time CSS-driven rendering.- Dynamic latitude-specific phase simulation.
- Progressive enhancement using JavaScript polyfill fallback.
- Fully responsive, fluid CSS Grid layout.
- Modular SCSS/CSS with ParticleScrolls theme integration.
Stack & Tools Used
Frontend
- HTML5 – Semantic structure with accessibility best practices.
- CSS3 – Custom properties,
attr()function, and keyframe transitions. - CSS Grid & Flexbox – Mobile-first, adaptive layout system.
- Web Components – Encapsulated custom element logic.
- Vanilla JavaScript – For fallback rendering and animation support.
- IntersectionObserver (optional) – For future scroll-triggered effects.
Performance & Compatibility
- Attr() Polyfill – Ensures behavior in non-supporting browsers.
- Lazy Rendering Logic (Planned) – For scalable visual performance.
Development & Deployment
- ParticleScrolls Theme – Modular base with animation support.
- AlmaLinux 9 + Apache – Self-hosted environment.
- Git (local) – Version control and deployment tracking.
Outcome
The Moon Phases Visualizer offers an immersive, plugin-free lunar experience in the browser, leveraging modern CSS and JavaScript. It stands as both a functional astronomy tool and a demonstration of how aesthetic frontend engineering can enable scientific storytelling. With further enhancements, it could scale into a real-time, API-powered astronomical education platform.