Solar System Gravity Lab
Experiment with speed, distance, and mass to feel why planets keep falling around the Sun.
The solar system is far emptier than you imagine
Return the Sun’s diameter to the same scale as the orbits and Earth becomes a nearly invisible point. To read the orbital relationships, this lab uses an "exploration magnification" that enlarges only the bodies. First switch between true ratio and exploration ratio to feel the emptiness of space.
Switch to true ratio and watch the bodies shrink until they vanish, then return to exploration magnification.
Scale Lens
At true ratio the Sun’s radius is about 0.00465 AU, and Earth is about 1/109 of that again. Only the glowing position markers remain.
Orbit State
TargetEarth
Distance1.00 AU
Speed29.8 km/s
Gravity100%
Orbit stateStable ellipseSun only
This planet, captured by the Sun, keeps falling.