Astronomical Algorithms Tonight's night sky · animate time with Play
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Planets distances (MKm) Planets distances (MKm) Planets Planets
PLANETS DISTANCES (MKm)
Constellations elements FConstellations elements FConstellations elements
Constellations elements
Stars Stars Stars
Stars
Orbits Orbits Orbits
Orbits
Axes Orbits Axes
Axes

Orbit

The path of a body under gravity — usually an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.

Keplerian orbits

In the two-body problem, a bound orbit is a conic section — an ellipse for closed orbits. The Sun sits at one focus. The shape is set by six orbital elements: semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, longitude of ascending node, argument of perihelion and mean anomaly at epoch.

Real solar system

Planets mutually perturb one another; orbits are not fixed ellipses but slowly evolving curves. High-precision ephemerides integrate the n-body equations, as in Jean Meeus' Astronomical Algorithms.

3D illustration

Interactive heliocentric view — planetary orbits in the ecliptic plane.

Use the menu and time controls to explore. Based on Jean Meeus' Astronomical Algorithms.