About the Solar System Simulator
This free simulator shows where the Sun's planets, the main dwarf planets and the larger moons are on any date from 1800 to 2050. Planet positions come from published orbital elements, checked against NASA JPL Horizons reference data; moon positions are approximate (real periods and phases, but their orbit distances are compressed so they stay readable), and body sizes are enlarged. Everything is computed right in your browser: nothing is downloaded after the page loads and no account is needed.
Press play to run time forward or backward at different rates, jump to a date such as your birthday, or tap a body to read its distance from the Sun, orbital speed, period and other facts. Because the real solar system is mostly empty space, you can switch between three distance scales: a readable scale that keeps every orbit visible (moon orbits appear as you zoom in on a planet), a logarithmic scale, and true scale, where the inner planets crowd around the Sun and the outer giants sit far away.
The simulator is a companion to Ultimate Cycle Catcher, the one-tap orbital timing game where you catch cyclers on their loops from Earth to the moons of Jupiter. To learn the real science behind those routes, read the science guide.
© 2026 the Cycle Catcher team