AstroGrav Help /Sample Simulations /Solar SystemVersion 4.4.1

Solar System

The following simulations are a variety of solar system simulations, with each one containing different subsets of objects (planets, moons, asteroids, comets, KBOs). These simulations all use the ICRF/J2000.0 reference frame.

Planets, All Moons shows the Sun, together with all known planets and moons.
Planets, Major Moons shows the Sun, together with all known planets and major moons - ie, all moons with masses over 1.0e19 kg.
Planets, Moon, Asteroids shows the Sun, all known planets, the Moon, and all known asteroids with radii over 100km.
Planets, Moon, Comets shows the Sun, all known planets, the Moon, and a selection of well known comets.
Planets, Moon, KBOs shows the Sun, all known planets, the Moon, and all known Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) with radii over 100km.
Planets, Moon shows the Sun, together with all known planets and the Moon.
Planets shows the Sun, together with all known planets.
Solar System shows the Sun, all known planets and moons, and all other known Solar System objects with radii over 100km. A selection of well known comets is also included.

The basic simulation is Solar System which contains all known objects with radii over 100km, together with all known moons and a selection of well known comets - a total over 500 objects. In practice, this is not particularly useful, because the large number of objects present can be rather confusing, and evolution of the system is slow.

The other simulations are all derived from Solar System by removing unwanted objects and/or by combining planets with their unwanted moons. These simulations are much easier to work with, and evolve more quickly - in some cases much more quickly.