I spent the weekend improving the oribtal calculations used in Celestia and getting better trajectories for unmanned spacecraft. Here's an image showing Voyager 2 near it's closest approach to Uranus:
http://ennui.shatters.net/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=celestia&id=v2_uranus
The image is very close to the one produced by JPL's solar system simulator. A new (and final!) prerelease of Celestia will be ready in a couple days, and at that time I'll also make a new version of the Voyager add-on available with the improved trajectories. I spent hours just following the Voyager craft, Cassini, and Jupiter . . . The Voyager 1 flyby of Saturn is particularly dramatic.
With the new calculations, I was also able to reproduce the correct path of an eclipse that observed from Athens on 14 Jan 484!
--Chris
More accurate orbits and trajectories
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billybob884
- Posts: 986
- Joined: 16.08.2002
- With us: 22 years 4 months
- Location: USA, East Coast
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billybob884
- Posts: 986
- Joined: 16.08.2002
- With us: 22 years 4 months
- Location: USA, East Coast
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Calculus1
ligth time delay
Chris, this is impressive!
When do you think you'll add the loop to take account of the light velocity delay ?
That way we will be able to see the phemus of jupiter!
---Paul
When do you think you'll add the loop to take account of the light velocity delay ?
That way we will be able to see the phemus of jupiter!
---Paul
Awsome...My accuracy should improve now that I have a book...a catalouge of all celestial bodies known to man...Kenneth R Lang's Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars...Includes complete RA and Dec coord inc distance and dimentions of Planetary Nebs, T Tauri Stars, Wolf-Rayent stars, the list goes on and on....
I'm trying to teach the cavemen how to play scrabble, its uphill work. The only word they know is Uhh and they dont know how to spell it!
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billybob884
- Posts: 986
- Joined: 16.08.2002
- With us: 22 years 4 months
- Location: USA, East Coast
Rassilon wrote:Awsome...My accuracy should improve now that I have a book...a catalouge of all celestial bodies known to man...Kenneth R Lang's Astrophysical Data: Planets and Stars...Includes complete RA and Dec coord inc distance and dimentions of Planetary Nebs, T Tauri Stars, Wolf-Rayent stars, the list goes on and on....
where did you get this book? it sounds interesting...