The solar system planet simulations online will allow you to visualize very special characteristics of some of them.
The solar system is a planetary system composed of eight main planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Each planet has unique characteristics that distinguish them and make them fascinating.
Inner planets
The inner planets of the solar system, also known as terrestrial planets, are the planets that are closest to the Sun. They have a rocky composition and are relatively small in size compared to the outer planets.
Mercury. It is the closest planet to the Sun and also the smallest. It has a rocky surface and is riddled with craters caused by asteroid and comet impacts.
Venus. It is known as Earth’s “sister planet” because of its similar size, but it is extremely inhospitable. Its dense atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide and has a scorching surface temperature.
Earth. It is our home and the only planet known so far to have life. It has a great diversity of landscapes, from mountains and oceans to deserts and jungles.
Mars. Also called the “red planet,” it has captured our imagination because of its similarity to Earth and the possibility of having harbored life in the past.
Outer planets
The outer planets of the solar system, also known as giant or gas planets, are farther from the Sun and have distinctive characteristics compared to the inner planets.
Jupiter. It is the giant of the solar system and the largest planet. It is composed mainly of gas and has an impressive storm called the Great Red Spot.
Saturn. It is famous for its beautiful rings, which are composed of ice and rock particles.
Uranus and Neptune. They are gas giants with turbulent atmospheres and have distinctive features, such as the strongest winds in the solar system on Neptune.
Other objects
In addition to these planets, the solar system also harbors other fascinating objects. Pluto, although no longer officially considered a planet, is an icy dwarf object orbiting beyond Neptune. There are also asteroids, comets, and small bodies known as dwarf planets, such as Ceres and Eris, scattered throughout the solar system.
Online solar system planet simulations help us learn more about Earth’s neighbors in our little corner of the universe. Play with them!
Inner planets
In this first one of the online solar system planet simulations, you can see the motion of Mercury, Venus and the Earth along their orbits around the Sun. Observe how, due to their different translation speeds, the distances between the planets and the angular position of Mercury and Venus with respect to the Earth change.
In this animation you can see the apparent motion of Venus as seen from the Earth.
Apparent motion of Mars
See what the motion of Mars is like with respect to the Earth and how it approaches or moves away, due to the different translation velocities of Mars and the Earth.
Galilean moons
In this last of the online solar system planet simulations, the motion of the Galilean moons, the four largest of those orbiting Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, is depicted.
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