This project renders a real-time, browser-based model of the Solar System with accurate orbital mechanics seeded from JPL Horizons ephemerides. Bodies are textured and lit with Three.js, and the camera can focus on any star, planet, or major moon for an immersive, skybox-backed view. A live demo is available at turunursa.fi/magi/solarsystem.
- Physically grounded: Orbits, axial tilts, and rotation rates start from current UTC time and evolve using Keplerian propagation. Outer-planet moon distances are scaled for readability while preserving ordering.
- Rich visuals: Locally cached textures (
data/textures/) provide planetary detail, enhanced selection halos, and configurable Saturn rings tuned to match the ring plane. - Hands-on controls: Drag with the left mouse button to orbit, right-drag to pan, and use the scroll wheel to zoom. Double-clicking locks the camera to the chosen body.
- Timeline tooling: Step simulation time via quick-adjust buttons (+/-H, +/-D, +/-W, +/-M, +/-Y), jump back to "NOW", and modulate speed exponentially from real time up to 10^11x.
- Localization: The HUD, hints, and instructions are available in Finnish (default), English, Swedish, German, and Greek, with a language picker displaying native names and flags.
No build step is required—open index.html in any modern browser with WebGL and Intl support. For a lightweight static host:
python3 -m http.server 8080
# then browse to http://localhost:8080/Textures load from data/textures, so keep that directory relative to the HTML file when deploying.
- Localized UI copy lives in
strings.js(LOCALES, DESCRIPTIONS, language metadata). - Source entry point:
main.js(Three.js scene setup, simulation loop, localization state). - Styling:
styles.cssdefines the compact HUD layout tuned for multiple languages. - Planetary and satellite metadata (radii, orbital elements, descriptive copy) lives in
main.js; adjust there when adding bodies. - The
docs/folder stores project assets such as screenshots for documentation.
- Authoring & design: Marko Grönroos (2025)
- Orbital references: NASA/JPL Horizons API state vectors (retrieved October 2025)
- Libraries: Three.js with
OrbitControls