SOLAR: an interactive 3D solar system on real JPL orbits, in your browser

SOLAR: An Interactive 3D Solar System on Real JPL Orbits, in Your Browser

Live: http://xtotam.com

SOLAR is a non-commercial side project: an interactive 3D solar system in the browser where you fly between planets, and their positions are computed from real JPL orbital elements instead of a pre-baked animation.

• Stack: React + Three.js + TypeScript
• Written mostly in pair with Claude Code

The Science Part

Planet positions come from JPL's table of orbital elements and rates (valid for 1800-2050). Kepler's equation is solved with Newton's method right on the client, so any date in that range gives a real position, not an interpolated frame.

The math is covered by tests on all 8 orbits:

• At the edges of the validity interval
• At perihelion/aphelion
• Against the J2000 reference position of Earth
• For retrograde periods

There are deliberate simplifications, documented openly:

• UTC is used as an approximation of TDB without the seconds-level correction
• Earth's orbit represents the Earth-Moon barycenter
• There is no full N-body integration
• Moons are not modeled

Cinematic Travel

The visual mode compresses distances non-linearly (so the inner planets don't collapse into each other) and lets a slider set the upper bound of time acceleration - the actual rate ramps up smoothly and brakes before arrival.

• Accumulated simulation time is shown separately from flight duration
• There is no manual piloting and no crashes: it's a cinematic tour, not a flight sim

Mobile First

The top-down ecliptic map is a separate mode built mobile-first:

• On a phone it's a full-screen sheet
• The sidebar only appears from 761px up
• Tapping a body on the map immediately plots a route

Two distance scales are available: compressed (power-law) and true. It also shows:

• The asteroid belt (2.1-3.3 AU)
• The Kuiper belt (30-50 AU)
• A marker for your ship

Stack and Deployment

• Frontend: React, Three.js, TypeScript, Vite
• Accounts and autosave: Node API + PostgreSQL
• Self-hosted deployment: Docker + Caddy
• Planet textures: Solar System Scope (CC BY 4.0)

Happy to answer questions about the orbital math or else.