Solar System Orbits

Hover a planet

Orbital Mechanics

Planets orbit the Sun following Kepler's laws. Period ∝ a3/2 (semi-major axis). Inner planets orbit faster — Mercury completes a year in just 88 Earth days, while Neptune takes 165 years.

N-Body Gravitational Simulation

1.0

Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation

F = G·M·m / r²

Click on the canvas to add new bodies. Each body attracts every other body. With 3+ bodies the system becomes chaotic — small changes in initial conditions lead to wildly different outcomes.

Earth-Moon Lagrange Points

Lagrange Points

Hover over each labeled point for a description. There are 5 Lagrange points where a small body can maintain a stable position relative to two large bodies (Earth and Moon).

Escape Velocity Simulator

45°
50%
60

Escape Velocity

vesc = √(2GM/R)

The escape velocity is the minimum speed needed to escape a planet's gravity without further propulsion.