This project provides a 2D representation of the position of the planets of our solar system. This project makes use of the Kepler-Utils node module to calculate the heliocentric positions of the planets at any given date. These positions are then scaled and plotted on an HTML Canvas
Follow the instructions below to get a local copy of this project running on your
You will need to have the NodeJS environment installed on your machine in order to use the NodeJS Package Manager to install this project.
Clone a local copy of this project's repository by running:
$ git clone https://github.com/popnfresh234/2d_orrery.git
Next, install the required Node packages by running
$ npm install
You can run this project on your local machine by running the following start
script:
$ npm run start
The project can then be viewed running by visiting localhost:8080
in your browser.
You can also build the project for distribution by running the build
script:
$ npm run build
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details
The following resources were indispensable for creating this project
- JPL's Keplerian Elements for Aproximate Positions of the Major Planets
- Wikipedia entry on Orbital Elements for a high level overview
- Wikipedia entry on Julian Dates
- Wikipedia entry on Mean Longitude
- J. Giesen's website regarding Kepler and solving for the eccentric anomaly
- Rocket and Space Technology regarding solving for the True Anomaly
- Stargazing Network regarding converting from polar to rectangular coordinates.