diff --git a/src/app/viewer.js b/src/app/viewer.js
index c8b841352..96c9851d9 100644
--- a/src/app/viewer.js
+++ b/src/app/viewer.js
@@ -2,6 +2,48 @@ import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
 import { applyModelAtmosphereWorkaround } from './atmosphereCompat.js';
 import { StarrySky } from '../sky/starrySky.js';
 
+/**
+ * At the farthest a hand can zoom out, the globe is this share of the
+ * screen's height across. Cesium sets no limit, so zooming on left the globe
+ * a speck among the stars.
+ */
+const MIN_GLOBE_SHARE = 0.3;
+
+/**
+ * The farthest a hand can zoom out, in metres above the ellipsoid, for a
+ * vertical field of view. It follows the screen's shape, as the app's own
+ * whole-globe view does, so that view always lies within it.
+ * @param {number} fovy Vertical field of view, radians.
+ */
+export function zoomOutLimit(fovy) {
+  const radius = Cesium.Ellipsoid.WGS84.maximumRadius;
+  const angular = Math.atan(MIN_GLOBE_SHARE * Math.tan(fovy / 2));
+  return radius / Math.sin(angular) - radius;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Hold a hand's zoom out to `zoomOutLimit` on the globe, each frame, since the
+ * field of view follows the screen's shape. The limit never sits below the
+ * camera: one already past it (a flight, a screen turned) stops there rather
+ * than jumping in at the next zoom. Flat maps keep Cesium's own, unlimited.
+ * @returns {() => void} Stop limiting.
+ */
+export function limitZoomOut(viewer) {
+  const { scene, camera } = viewer;
+  return scene.preRender.addEventListener(() => {
+    const controller = scene.screenSpaceCameraController;
+    const fovy = camera.frustum.fovy;
+    if (scene.mode !== Cesium.SceneMode.SCENE3D || !Number.isFinite(fovy)) {
+      controller.maximumZoomDistance = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY;
+      return;
+    }
+    controller.maximumZoomDistance = Math.max(
+      zoomOutLimit(fovy),
+      camera.positionCartographic?.height ?? 0,
+    );
+  });
+}
+
 const PINCH_ZOOM_MULTIPLIER = 8;
 const MAX_PINCH_PIXEL_DELTA = 120;
 
@@ -142,6 +184,7 @@ export function createApplicationViewer({ container, creditContainer }) {
     // required on touch-first screens. Mouse/trackpad sensitivity stays native.
     if (globalThis.matchMedia?.('(pointer: coarse)').matches)
       viewer.scene.screenSpaceCameraController.zoomFactor *= 3;
+    limitZoomOut(viewer);
     // Before any tile builds a draw command: Cesium's per-vertex model
     // atmosphere fails to LINK on Apple's Metal backend and kills the
     // render loop. See app/atmosphereCompat.js.
diff --git a/src/app/viewer.test.mjs b/src/app/viewer.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..94d80e20a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/viewer.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+// A hand zooming out stops while the globe is still a fair share of the
+// screen, on any screen's shape, rather than leaving it a speck.
+import test from 'node:test';
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import * as Cesium from 'cesium';
+import { limitZoomOut, zoomOutLimit } from './viewer.js';
+
+// The share of the screen's height the globe spans from `altitude`.
+function globeShare(altitude, fovy) {
+  const radius = Cesium.Ellipsoid.WGS84.maximumRadius;
+  const angular = Math.asin(radius / (radius + altitude));
+  return Math.tan(angular) / Math.tan(fovy / 2);
+}
+
+test("zooming out stops with the globe 30% of the screen's height across", () => {
+  for (const fovy of [Math.PI / 3, 0.4, 0.2]) {
+    const limit = zoomOutLimit(fovy);
+    assert.ok(Math.abs(globeShare(limit, fovy) - 0.3) < 1e-9, `fovy ${fovy}`);
+  }
+});
+
+test('a wide screen, whose view is narrower, may zoom out farther', () => {
+  assert.ok(zoomOutLimit(0.4) > zoomOutLimit(Math.PI / 3));
+  assert.ok(zoomOutLimit(Math.PI / 3) > 20_000_000, 'past the views a link opens');
+});
+
+function fakeViewer({ fovy = Math.PI / 3, height = 10_000_000 } = {}) {
+  const scene = {
+    mode: Cesium.SceneMode.SCENE3D,
+    preRender: new Cesium.Event(),
+    screenSpaceCameraController: { maximumZoomDistance: Infinity },
+  };
+  const camera = {
+    frustum: { fovy },
+    positionCartographic: { height },
+  };
+  return { scene, camera };
+}
+
+test('the limit follows the screen, and holds a camera already past it', () => {
+  const viewer = fakeViewer();
+  const controller = viewer.scene.screenSpaceCameraController;
+  const stop = limitZoomOut(viewer);
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.equal(controller.maximumZoomDistance, zoomOutLimit(Math.PI / 3));
+
+  // A wider screen narrows the view, and the globe may go farther.
+  viewer.camera.frustum.fovy = 0.4;
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.equal(controller.maximumZoomDistance, zoomOutLimit(0.4));
+
+  // Flown past it, the next zoom out stops there instead of jumping in.
+  viewer.camera.positionCartographic.height = zoomOutLimit(0.4) * 2;
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.equal(controller.maximumZoomDistance, zoomOutLimit(0.4) * 2);
+
+  stop();
+  viewer.camera.positionCartographic.height = 0;
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.equal(controller.maximumZoomDistance, zoomOutLimit(0.4) * 2);
+});
+
+test('flat maps keep zooming out unlimited', () => {
+  const viewer = fakeViewer();
+  const controller = viewer.scene.screenSpaceCameraController;
+  limitZoomOut(viewer);
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.ok(Number.isFinite(controller.maximumZoomDistance));
+  viewer.scene.mode = Cesium.SceneMode.SCENE2D;
+  viewer.camera.frustum = {};
+  viewer.scene.preRender.raiseEvent();
+  assert.equal(controller.maximumZoomDistance, Infinity);
+});