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The above simulation shows the orbit for one or more planets based on parameters from the database. The parameters are not always known, and are often only partially known, as for the mass. As a consequence, there are often arbitrary choices for the values in order to be able to display the orbit. For instance, the parameter "m.sin(i)" is used as the mass of the planet, even though it is actually the mass multiplied by the sinus of the inclination. And a default inclination of 0° (seen from above) is used when the inclination is not known.
The display preferences (under the animation) are the following :
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real distance : preserves the ratio between distances and dimensions of the planets and the star when the option is activated
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real size : preserves the size ratio between the star and the planets ; deactivated by default when the semi-major axis is so large that the planet could not be seen if the option was activated
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inclination 0 (usable only when the inclination is known) : to display the orbit with an inclination of 0° instead of the known value.
Clicking on a planet selects it. The simulation speed is then adapted to make it easier to follow the selected planet movement.
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Display preferences
