Solar System Simulation

A 2D simulation of the solar system using Newtonian physics. This project simulates the motion of planets around the sun using gravitational forces.

Features

• Accurate simulation of gravitational forces between celestial bodies
• Visual representation of planets and their orbits
• Real-time display of distances between planets and the sun
• Configurable simulation parameters
• Time controls (pause, slow down, speed up)
• Planet information panel with detailed orbital data

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• Pygame

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/zackbunch/SolarSim.git
   cd SolarSim
   

2. Install the required dependencies:

   pip install pygame
   

Usage

Run the simulation with default settings:

python main.py

Command Line Options

• --fps: Set the frames per second for the simulation (default: 60)

Example:

python main.py --fps 30

Controls

• Click on a planet: Select it to view detailed information
• Click on empty space: Deselect the current planet
• Pause/Play button: Toggle simulation pause
• Slower button: Decrease simulation speed
• Faster button: Increase simulation speed

Project Structure

SolarSim/
├── main.py                     # Main entry point
├── solarsim/                   # Main package
│   ├── config/                 # Configuration
│   │   ├── constants.py        # Constants and settings
│   ├── models/                 # Data models
│   │   ├── celestial_body.py   # Celestial body class
│   ├── rendering/              # Rendering logic
│   │   ├── renderer.py         # Renderer class
│   ├── simulation/             # Simulation logic
│   │   ├── simulator.py        # Main simulator class
├── README.md                   # This file
└── LICENSE                     # License information

Customization

You can customize the simulation by modifying the constants in solarsim/config/constants.py:

• Change the scale factor to zoom in or out
• Adjust the time step to speed up or slow down the simulation
• Modify planet properties (mass, radius, color, initial position, velocity)
• Add new planets or other celestial bodies
• Adjust UI settings and appearance

How It Works

The simulation uses Newton's law of universal gravitation to calculate the forces between celestial bodies:

F = G * (m1 * m2) / r²

Where:

• F is the gravitational force between two bodies
• G is the gravitational constant
• m1 and m2 are the masses of the two bodies
• r is the distance between the centers of the two bodies

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by various physics simulations and educational tools
• Planet data based on real astronomical measurements