Table of Contents

The Solar System

Module 4: The Planets

Button controls:

• (1) Help button:
  • This button will open a window with help information
• (2) Toggle controls:
  • Play: This button will begin the animation of the planetary orbits
  • Pause: This button will halt the animation
  • Reset: This button will reset the applet, returning the planets (4) to their orginal point and reseting the elapsed planetary years/orbits (3)

Using the applet:

This applet has been designed to help students visualize the structure of the solar system. Although the diagram is not drawn to scale, the orbital speeds are, however, relatively accurate. One can clearly see that the planets closest to the Sun orbit fastest. Other structures can be observed in the location of the asteroid belt and the irregular orbit of Pluto.

The table showing the elapsed years/orbits helps give an indication of the orbital period around the Sun, which is related to the planets' (4) orbital speeds and distance from the Sun. The numbers represent the number of orbits each planet makes around the Sun which is equivalent to the number of years on that planet.