Solar System: A Semi-realistic Model

About this project

This is an interactive model of the solar system that is quite, but not entirely, realistic.

The vast distances and differences in space and time that are present in the real solar system can make observation boring or intimidating. This model contains real data and real orbital math; but distances and differences in space and time are algorithmically reduced to make the exploration experience more interesting and fun.

Other aspects of the solar system (those that do not make the experience less fun) are modeled quite accurately.

Key features

• all major (and some minor) celestial objects of the solar system with real characteristics,
• real high-resolution textures, mostly from NASA, or some derivative thereof (dwarf planets past Pluto have fictitious textures),
• realistic Milky Way background,
• ability to focus on, zoom and pan around celestial objects,
• real (or closely approximated) orbital motion,
• non-linear (logarithmic-ish) distances and differences in size,
• dynamic and non-linear time scale, including "time zoom" feature, which makes time slow down as you zoom into an object,
• works well on desktop as well as mobile devices,
• heavily optimized for GPUs to produce a smooth experience even on relatively low-end devices (just don't have other stuff running in the background),
• panel showing basic information about the focused object, with absolute values and values relative to Earth's or Moon's,
• nice ambient audio to match the mood of space exploration (credit: Star Control 2),
• James Webb Space Telescope, including its orbit around L2,
• a curious astronaut,
• super cool "flight of the comet" experience,
• demo mode that traverses through all celestial objects.

Controls

• Double tap an object to focus on it (or select it in the Camera drop-down)
• Tap and drag to pan
• Scroll or pinch to zoom
• Double tap focused object to toggle between closeup and wide view
• Double tap empty space to return