Turn a 360° equirectangular panorama from a phone, drone or 360 camera into a round little planet, or flip it into a rabbit hole with the sky at the centre. Drag to spin the planet, zoom and tilt it, then download a square image up to 4096 px.
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Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom · arrow keys work too
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How to use the Tiny Planet Maker
Add your panorama: drop a 360° × 180° equirectangular image (2:1 ratio) on the box, or try the sample that loads automatically.
Pick a projection: Tiny planet puts the ground in the centre; Rabbit hole puts the sky in the centre with the ground around the edge.
Frame it: drag the preview in a circle to rotate, use Zoom to change the planet size and Tilt for a perspective look.
Fine-tune with Horizon shift if the horizon of your photo is not exactly in the middle.
Choose size and format, then press Download tiny planet.
The math behind a tiny planet
An equirectangular panorama stores the whole sphere around the camera on a flat grid: the horizontal position is the longitude (0° to 360°) and the vertical position is the latitude (+90° zenith at the top, −90° nadir at the bottom). For every pixel of the square output this tool works backwards:
Polar coordinates: the pixel's distance r from the centre and its angle θ are measured. With zoom z (1.0 = 100%), the angle from the centre pole is φ = 2 · atan(2r / z), so the horizon (φ = 90°) sits at radius z / 2 of the half-width.
Back to the sphere: the direction is (sin φ cos θ, sin φ sin θ, ∓cos φ), with the minus sign for a tiny planet (nadir in the centre) and the plus sign for a rabbit hole (zenith in the centre). Tilt rotates this vector about the horizontal axis.
Back to the panorama: longitude = atan2(y, x) + rotation and latitude = asin(z) give the source pixel, which is read with bilinear interpolation and wraps around the 360° seam.
Settings at a glance
Setting
What it changes
Good starting value
Rotation
Spins the planet so your main subject points up
Drag until the subject is at 12 o'clock
Zoom
Size of the ground disc; lower values show more sky around it
80–130%
Tilt
Tips the sphere for a perspective, globe-like view
0° (classic), ±15–30° for drama
Horizon shift
Moves the horizon up or down in the source before projecting
0% for a level, centred horizon
Rabbit hole
Sky in the centre, ground around the edges
Zoom 60–100%
Tips for better little planets
Shoot with a level horizon: a tilted horizon in the panorama turns into a lopsided planet.
Open ground works best: parks, beaches, rooftops and town squares give a clean, round planet; objects very close to the camera get huge.
Hide the tripod: patch the bottom strip of the panorama (or shoot a nadir shot) because it becomes the centre of the planet.
Put a tall subject at the top: a tower, tree or person standing at 12 o'clock makes the composition read instantly.
Use the rabbit hole for skies: dramatic clouds, star fields or forests with tall trees look great with the sky in the middle.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of photo do I need for a tiny planet?
The best source is a full spherical panorama in equirectangular format: an image exactly twice as wide as it is tall that covers 360 degrees horizontally and 180 degrees vertically. 360 cameras, drone sphere modes and phone photo sphere modes produce this format. A normal wide panorama also works, but it is stretched to wrap all the way around, so the edges and the sky look distorted.
How does the tiny planet effect work?
It uses stereographic projection. Each point of the panorama is placed on a sphere and projected onto a flat plane from the opposite pole, so the point straight below the camera (the nadir) lands in the centre and the horizon becomes a circle. Stereographic projection keeps local shapes and angles intact, which is why trees and buildings still look natural while bending around the planet.
What is the difference between a tiny planet and a rabbit hole?
They are the same projection seen from opposite poles. Tiny planet projects from the zenith, so the ground is a small globe in the middle with the sky all around it. Rabbit hole (also called a tunnel or inverted planet) projects from the nadir, so the sky becomes a round hole in the middle and the ground wraps around the outside.
Why is there a blurry or smeared spot in the middle?
The centre of a tiny planet is the nadir, the area directly under the camera. Many panoramas have the tripod, the photographer or a stitching seam there, and the bottom rows of an equirectangular image contain very few real pixels. Retouch the bottom edge of the panorama before converting, or zoom in so the centre is smaller.
What output size should I choose?
For social media 1080 or 2048 pixels is enough. Choose 3000 or 4096 for prints, but only if your panorama is large: the output cannot contain more detail than the source, and a 4096 px planet looks best from a panorama at least 6000 pixels wide.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. The panorama is decoded and projected entirely in your browser with the Canvas API, and the result is saved straight from your device. Nothing is sent to a server, so it also works offline once the page has loaded.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.