Solar System & Eclipses Explorer
by Anonymous · ⭐ 1 · 🍴 0
Sorting Planet Families — Compare all eight planets by radius, from 0.38× Earth (Mercury) to 11.2× (Jupiter), and see why four dense, rocky terrestrial planets (density 3.9–5.5 g/cm³) split off from four light gas giants (0.7–1.6 g/cm³). The Sun’s Face — Step through 25 days in 5-day jumps to watch sunspots drift across the surface as the Sun rotates, and pick through four features one at a time: granulation, sunspots, prominences, and corona/flares. Solar and Lunar Eclipses — Cycle through five alignments — none, total solar, partial solar, total lunar, partial lunar — and learn that because the Moon’s orbit is tilted 5°, most months pass with no alignment at all. In the end, size isn’t what splits the planets into two families — density is, and now you’ve measured it yourself.
About this app
Solar System & Eclipses Explorer is an interactive science app for comparing all eight planets and seeing how radius, density, mass, moons, and surface characteristics separate terrestrial planets from gas giants. Explore the Sun’s granules, sunspots, prominences, corona, and flares while advancing through 25 days to observe sunspot movement and solar rotation. Switch among five Sun–Earth–Moon layouts to model total and partial solar and lunar eclipses, as well as non-aligned configurations caused by the Moon’s 5° orbital tilt.
Use cases
- Middle school students learning about the solar system
- Teachers demonstrating planet classification and density
- Learners exploring solar surface and atmospheric features
- Students modeling the alignment and shadows of eclipses
Features
- Compare Mercury through Neptune using radius, density, mass, moon count, and surface information
- Classify planets as four terrestrial planets or four gas giants
- Advance the Sun through days 1 to 25 to observe sunspot movement
- Inspect granules, sunspots, prominences, the corona, and flares
- Cycle through non-aligned, total, and partial solar and lunar eclipse scenes