Orbit Xplorer is an easy-to-use orbit simulator suitable for high school, college and university students and teachers, or anyone with an interest in physics and astronomy. For the first time you can do "lab exercises" in gravitational physics! If you are solving problems involving orbits of satellites, planets or stars it will be exciting to simulate the problem in Orbit Xplorer and compare its numerical output with your own solutions. Orbit Xplorer comes with more than 40 premade simulations which you may modify as you like. Each simulation includes one or more suggested activities of varying difficulty. You may also construct and save your own simulation.

Features

• Calculate and plot the orbits of up to 10 gravitationally interacting bodies. • Easily create, run, save and print your own orbit simulation. • View time, distance, velocity, acceleration and energy. • View velocity and acceleration vectors. • View field and equipotential lines. • View graphs of distance, velocity, acceleration and energy as a function of time. • View a simulation from two different viewpoints simultaneously. • View the orbits in 3D or 2D. • Uses actual pictures of planets and moons.

Basic simulations

• A star visits the sun • Asteroids Ida and Dactyl • Binary with identical stars • Change gravitational constant • Earth in a double star system • Geocentric and heliocentric world view • Gravitational field • Inner solar system • Kepler's first law • Kepler's second law • Kepler's third law • Outer solar system • Rocket launch • Satellite around the earth • Satellite around the moon • Satellite near Mars • Throw a stone on Ida • Transit of Venus in 2004 and 2012 • Two colliding stars • Zero-force point

Intermediate simulations

• Binary star • Binary star 2 • Catch that satellite! • Earth in a double star system • Escape velocity from rotating planet • Find the mass of an invisible planet • Gravitational potential • Orbit of Juno around Jupiter • Orbit of the Moon • Planet around HD209458

Advanced simulations

• Butterfly I • Figure eight orbit • Gravity assist • Hexagonal system • Hexagonal system with central star • Hill sphere • Hohmann transfer orbit to Mars • Hohmann transfer orbit to geostationary orbit • Klemperer rosette • Lagrange point L1 • Satellite near Lagrange point L4