Both apps show a solar system map - a "plan view" of the planets laid out in the plane of the ecliptic (the flat plane in which all the main planets move about the Sun). Dwarf planet positions are also shown - but it should be realised that these objects often rise far above and below the plane of the ecliptic. This is because their orbital planes are tilted with respect to the ecliptic - by more than 40 degrees in some cases. So be aware that just because the app may occasionally show a planet and a dwarf planet to be very close to each other in the plan view, they may, in fact, be separated by a large perpendicular distance. Earth's Tilt

Solar System and the Night Sky TheSkyLive - Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky

List of Bright Comets. This is a list of the bright comets that are currently visible, or that will likely become bright and visible in the future.Solar System Simulator is an immersive online game that allows you to explore and interact with our very own solar system. It offers a realistic and detailed simulation of the Sun, planets, moons, and other celestial objects, giving you the opportunity to learn about the dynamics and characteristics of our cosmic neighborhood. Read more .. NASA's New Horizonsspacecraft is currently exploring an icy region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. It eventually will leave our solar system. The ultimate planetarium is the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, a set of images covering the entire sky taken with professional telescopes. The printed version is extremely expensive but it has now been digitized and is available in 10x compressed form on the Web from STScIand NASAand in 100x compressed form on 10 CDROMs from ASP. The CDROM version can be accessed from TheSkyand several others; the online version can be accessed from Starry Nightand a few others. Web-based Planetariums NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.

What is the solar system? - BBC Bitesize What is the solar system? - BBC Bitesize

The longest and shortest days occur at the Solstices. At the Equinoxes, the day is almost exactly the same (12 hours long) all over the world. This is a list of the currently active meteor showers. The celestial coordinates refer to the meteor shower radiant position,

The Leonids (generated by comet Tempel-Tuttle) can be quite a prolific shower with between 15 and hundreds of meteors per hour - but averaging around 40. The activity peaks every 33 years with the last peak in 2001. It is usually most active on November 17 and 18. Look for the shower radiating from the constellation Leo after midnight. Visible in northern and southern hemispheres. Link This software is still under development with additional features being added when we can. Please feel free to let us know if there are any features you would like added or questions about the solar system you would like answered, or give us any comments on the application. Sometimes people look into the night sky and expect that a planet shown to be in the zodiac sign of say "Cancer" will be sitting over the star constellation Cancer. This is not always true since zodiac signs and constellations do not match up one to one. The reason for this is that for one, the constellations vary in size whereas zodiacs are all the same and for two, the constellations have moved (or rather the direction the Earth's north pole points has changed) since astrology began.

Solar System Exploration - NASA Science

List of Bright Asteroids. This list is similar to the list above, and provides constantly updated information about the brightest asteroids and dwarf planets visible in the sky. Solar System Simulator is an educational game that shows different facts about our galaxy and the planets in it. Switch the view and the information you want to get about each and every planet, like the speed in which Venus travels around the sun, or the Jupiter’s enormous size in kilometers of equatorial circumference. Please note that our simulator provides a simplified and interactive representation of the solar system. While it strives to be accurate and informative, it may not reflect all the complexities and nuances of real-world astronomical phenomena. Find out more interesting facts, explore our magical universe and enjoy Solar System Simulator! The planets and moons of our solar system come in a wondrous variety of colors and textures. Some appear white, smooth, and calm; others are splotchy with color and dotted with craters and volcanoes. If this is the variety to be found in our solar system, imagine the strange worlds that must exist around other stars!The Zodiac display is centred on the Earth and oriented with the tilt of the earth. This display shows in which sign of the zodiac the Sun lies at any time. The sign of the Sun at a persons birth is called that person's Star Sign. With lots of 3D features this application allows you to explore the solar system with many basic facts thrown in. It also allows you to see all the stars and constellations. This online orrery (Note: an orrery is a machine that shows planetary positions) will hopefully help you to understand what's going on out there. Our live Solar System Map - Getting Oriented