Earth Satellites
This
system shows how small bodies would behave in orbit around our own planet. The earth was put at the origin and has a true mass in kg.
6 small satellites orbit it in varying paths.
To simulate the sun’s lighting effects (but not gravitational
effects!), one of the satellites acts as a light source and has an in plane
circular orbit with a period very close to 24 hours.
Special
Features Demonstrated:
-
Automatic Orbit Calculation
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Environment Controls (no stars)
-
Slaved Views
Things
to try:
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Want to see what a low earth orbit satellite sees? Set the “Look From” point to satellite 1 or satellite 4 and set the “Look At” point to the direction of motion. If you don’t want to get dizzy, you’ll also want to decrease the simulation time step from 60 seconds to something smaller (like 1 second). You’ll get to see the sunlight rise and fall at a much faster pace than here on earth (1 sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes or so).