Planet Orbits Simulation

A fun project with visually engaging planetary motion simulation built using Python and Pygame, based on Newtonian gravity.
It models the orbits of planets around the Sun using real-world astronomical data and physical equations.

---

Features

• Realistic gravitational motion using Newton’s law of universal gravitation
• Toggle between outer and inner solar system views (Z key to zoom)
• Trail tracking for each planet to visualize orbital paths
• Time-step based simulation (1 day per frame)
• Scalable simulation with two distinct zoom levels:
  • Outer Solar System (SCALE)
  • Inner Solar System (ZOOM_SCALE)
• Smooth 60 FPS rendering with Pygame

---

Controls

Key	Action
Z	Toggle between zoomed-in and zoomed-out view
ESC / Close Window	Exit simulation

---

Installation & Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/planet-simulation.git
cd planet-simulation

2. Install Dependencies

pip install pygame

3. Run the Simulation

python main.py

---

How It Works

🔹 Gravitational Force

where

• (G = 6.67430 \times 10^{-11}) (gravitational constant)
• (m_1, m_2) = masses of two bodies
• (r) = distance between them

🔹 Motion Update

Then velocity and position are updated using:

v = v + a dt
x = x + v dt

Each frame represents 1 day (DT = 86400 seconds).

---

Zoom System

Outer Solar System View: Uses SCALE = 6e-11 (meters → pixels). Shows all planets up to Pluto.

Inner Solar System View: Uses ZOOM_SCALE = 1e-9 for a closer look at Mercury–Earth region.

Press Z anytime to toggle views.

Trails are cleared upon zoom toggle for clarity.

---

File Structure

planet-simulation/
│
├── planet-orbits.py            # Core simulation file
├── README.md          # Project documentation
└── requirements.txt   # Dependencies (optional)