Mean radius is the radius of a sphere with the same volume as the planet. Equatorial g is gravitational acceleration GM/R² evaluated at the equatorial radius. We omit centrifugal acceleration and local variations; this is not an exact measurement of your weight.

A sidereal year is one orbit relative to the stars. Sidereal rotation and a solar day are different periods: a planet spins while also orbiting the Sun. We calculate the solar day from mean periods, rather than as the interval between every successive local sunrise.

Days in the tables are 24 hours long. One year used as a unit equals 365.25 days. Retrograde rotation is opposite to the predominant direction of planetary orbital motion.

Gas and ice giants have no solid ground. Radii and gravity refer to the 1-bar pressure level. The rotation period is the adopted JPL model, not the period of every cloud or a unique measurement of the interior rotation.

Numerical data: JPL — Planetary Physical Parameters. Planet descriptions: NASA Science. Each planet card links directly to its NASA description.

The Solar System has eight planets. The Moon is Earth’s natural satellite; Pluto is a dwarf planet. The Sun is a star. In visible light, we see planets and the Moon mainly by reflected sunlight.

The Moon rotates as it orbits, keeping approximately the same side facing Earth. Its far side also receives sunlight. Ordinary phases result from sunlight illumination; Earth’s shadow causes lunar eclipses, not the usual phases.

Solar System 3D is an illustrative model. Sizes and distances do not share one scale, orbits are circular and coplanar, and initial positions are arbitrary. Orbit and spin use separate time acceleration; period ratios are preserved within each group. Do not infer a date or the number of days in a year from the animation.

The asteroid belt is deliberately made denser; real objects are separated by enormous distances. Texture colours, glow and lighting are not a calibrated representation of the view seen by human eyes.

The plasma loops are inspired by solar prominences. A flare is a sudden increase in emission; a coronal mass ejection expels matter. These are different phenomena. Auroras in this view are illustrative and placed near geographic poles; real auroral ovals are tied to the magnetic field.

NASA: Moon · NASA: Sun · NOAA: how auroras form

Azimuth is measured from geographic north through east: N 0°, E 90°, S 180°, W 270°. Altitude 0° is the mathematical horizon; 90° is the zenith. We show apparent altitude with standard refraction; real atmospheric conditions can substantially change the result near the horizon.

Astronomy Engine’s author states a target model accuracy of about 1 arcminute (1/60°). This does not guarantee the accuracy of the whole application. Location coordinates, the star catalogue, refraction and image simplifications introduce additional errors; panel values are rounded to 0.1°.

“Sky above me” shows positions for your coordinates and time. Planets, Sun and Moon: Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 — Don Cross, MIT. Calculations include the observer's position, precession, nutation, planetary aberration, light travel time and standard atmospheric refraction. Local obstructions, weather and artificial lighting are not included.

2865 stars down to V=5.5: HYG v4.0 — David Nash / Astronomy Nexus, CC BY-SA 4.0. The embedded subset is shared under the same licence. Bright stars were selected, values rounded, motion vectors converted and selected localised names added. The map includes proper motion, precession and nutation; annual parallax and stellar aberration are omitted. It is an orientation map, not a precision astrometry tool.

Lines connect the Big and Little Dippers, Cassiopeia, selected Orion stars and the Summer Triangle. They help recognition and are not constellation boundaries. N/E/S/W refer to geographic directions. Drag the view towards the direction you face; the device does not use a compass or camera feed.

Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight end when the Sun’s geometric centre reaches −6°, −12° and −18° respectively. The −0.833° sunrise and sunset boundary is a standard approximation including the solar disc and refraction, without terrain.

USNO: horizon, sunrise, sunset and twilight. The Moon model accounts for illumination direction relative to the observer and camera; its texture and brightness are illustrative. The map does not predict eclipses or artificial satellite passes.

Other worlds includes eight Solar System planets and the Moon. Geometric positions use Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 heliocentric vectors; axis and prime-meridian orientation use the IAU/WGCCRE model through RotationAxis. On Earth, the local frame includes precession and nutation. We omit light travel time, aberration, refraction and stellar annual parallax. Mean spherical radii come from JPL; the nominal solar radius is 695,700 km.

Landscapes, colours, exposure and Milky Way glow are illustrative. Body discs have angular sizes derived from geometry; the Sun’s glow is enlarged. Planets are spheres, so we omit oblateness, terrain, atmospheric refraction, eclipses and mutual occultations of distant bodies. Other planetary moons are not shown.

Venus’s dense atmosphere hides space at the surface; switch to an elevated view. Day, Twilight and Night move the observer relative to the Sun at the same date. They are not weather forecasts. On the Moon, Earth’s position depends on the observer’s location. Saturn’s and Uranus’s rings are approximate equatorial-plane models. An elevated observer stays at fixed coordinates; no orbital trajectory is calculated.

One AU equals exactly 149,597,870.7 km. The nominal solar radius of 695,700 km is an IAU conversion constant, not an exact measurement of the changing boundary of the Sun’s atmosphere.

JPL: astronomical unit · IAU 2015 B3: nominal solar radius

NOAA OVATION typically forecasts auroral location and intensity 30–90 minutes ahead. The timestamp is the model’s reference time, not a forecast for the whole night. The nearby maximum is the largest NOAA value in cells within 14° of the observer, projected above the horizon; do not interpret it as a percentage chance of seeing aurora at your location.

Aurora in the sky: NOAA SWPC / OVATION. Curtain shapes and emission heights of 110–250 km are illustrative. The model region is projected onto the observer's horizon using Earth's curvature; it does not reproduce a real sky photograph. The 0–100 value is the maximum nearby model signal, not a guarantee of visibility. Bright sky, stale data and times outside the forecast hide the layer. Missing data does not mean no aurora.

Cloud cover: MET Norway — Locationforecast 2.0, CC BY 4.0. We use the closest weather time to NOAA's forecast time. Total cloud cover reduces simulation brightness; this is an approximation, not a map of local gaps in the clouds. Data covers the whole world.

When recording an aurora forecast, credit: “Aurora: NOAA SWPC / OVATION. Clouds: MET Norway, CC BY 4.0; data used in an approximate visualisation.” The simulation label stays visible when controls are hidden. Demo mode does not use the forecast and has its own label.

Thresholds for hiding faint effects or bright-sky scenes, and cloud dimming, are chosen for visualisation. They are not physical visibility limits. A lack of signal, missing data or a hidden animation does not prove aurora is absent. Demonstration mode is always illustrative.

Vedur: nightly Kp and weather forecast for Iceland. Data from Veðurstofa Íslands; download times are displayed. XML normalisation and point selection: ORBIT ATLAS. Terms of use. Vedur

Clouds come from Vedur or MET Norway for the displayed hour, which may be later than now. They are a total cloud-cover forecast, not a direct observation of cloud transparency. The model may differ from your local sky. “I can see clear sky” bypasses cloud attenuation only in the current simulation for 15 minutes. Source data remain unchanged. The observation resets when place, time, mode or source changes and remains labelled in recordings even with the interface hidden.

1 Mercury · 2 Venus · 3 Earth · 4 Mars
5 Jupiter · 6 Saturn · 7 Uranus · 8 Neptune
0 / Esc Solar System view · C gentle camera rotation
H show/hide controls · F fullscreen
O orbits · Space pause the simulation

R opens ready-made Sun, Earth and Saturn shots. Shots hide controls and orbits and end automatically. Esc / H ends a shot. Record using screen capture.

Scroll the bottom planet list with the arrows, mouse wheel or a finger swipe. Selecting a planet automatically reveals its button.

In close-up, the camera follows the planet. Mouse or touch still lets you rotate and zoom. Pause stops planets, the Moon, plasma and auroras; cinematic mode may continue rotating the camera.

L changes the location and time in sky view. C enables panorama, H hides controls and labels, F enables fullscreen, Esc returns to Solar System 3D. “+1 h” helps plan a later shot; “Now” restores current time. The date field uses the explicitly selected zone: device time or UTC.

Location is requested only after you click “Use GPS” and grant browser permission. GPS requires HTTPS. You can enter coordinates or select a city. Sky calculations run locally; exact GPS coordinates are not stored. The forecast sends coordinates rounded to 0.1° to the site server. The server sends Vedur the nearest forecast point number and sends MET Norway rounded coordinates. It temporarily caches responses and does not forward your IP address to forecast providers. NOAA and nightly Vedur data are fetched without your location. External library and texture services receive ordinary connection data, including your IP address. The app adds no analytics or advertising.

Planet, Moon and Sun maps: Solar System Scope / INOVE, CC BY 4.0. Delivered through a public CDN; mapping, colours and lighting are modified in the scene.

When publishing a 3D video, include: “Textures: Solar System Scope / INOVE, CC BY 4.0; modified mapping and lighting.” For the sky map, add: “Star data: David Nash / HYG v4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0; subset and position conversion. Ephemerides: Astronomy Engine / Don Cross.”

In “Other worlds”, use 1–8 to choose a planet, L for settings, C for panorama and R for three 24-second shots. Esc or H ends a shot and restores settings. Record using screen capture. When publishing, credit the star data, textures and ephemerides as above; procedural landscapes: ORBIT ATLAS.