An alternative (like arrow keys) would be great, as I don't think I can right-click-drag with my touchpad.

Ah i see, i had tried right click and it wasn't working, but that was because I had a planet selected with its details showing, in the normal view it's fine. Makes sense not to pan when an object is selected, i guess.

I just had the browser window maximized while I was away from it for a while. This would make a nice active desktop, though I don't know enough about the software stacks involved with that to know whether it's possible.