Orbits Tutorial by James Tauber

An in-progress collection of visualisations and mathematical explanations of Kepler's orbital model:

• 10. Kepler's First Law
• 12. Eccentricity and the Semi-Major/Semi-Minor Axes
• 15. Relationship between Focal Points and Eccentricity
• 17. Sum of the Distances to the Focal Points
• 18. Relationship Between Semi-Major and Semi-Minor Axes
• 19. Putting Together the Mathematics So Far
• 22. Argument of Periapsis
• 24. First Three Orbital Elements of the Planets
• 26. Inclination
• 30. Kepler's Second Law
• 40. Animated Model of Inner Planets (at no particular time)
• 50. Current Positions of Inner Planets

Lots more coming, though!

The lesson numbers just space things out so I can insert new lessons with more detail later without having to change URLs.

This work is largely based on study I did for the Mars Clock, reinspired by the Telsa Roadster launched by SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

The visualisations make extensive use of the excellent SVG.js library.