When to Use Comet Orbit 3D Explorer - Best Sessions and Limits
The Comet Orbit 3D Explorer fits classroom demos of eccentric orbits and anti-sunward tails, short curiosity breaks on Halley figures, and literacy around perihelion versus aphelion. It is an educational geometry visualization - not an N-body model - so a few session types need another tool.
A five-minute classroom demo
Open Comet Orbit 3D Explorer, scrub near perihelion, and pause so students see ion and dust tails stretch away from the Sun - faster than a flat textbook ellipse alone.
Halley numbers in one panel
Keep the facts table visible while reading period about 76 yr, q 0.586 AU, Q 35.1 AU, and e 0.967.
Sessions it does not fit
These sessions do not fit Comet Orbit 3D Explorer: any time you need only the eight planets, main-belt Kirkwood gaps, or Moon tidal locking. Use Solar System 3D Explorer, Asteroid Belt 3D Explorer, or Tidal Locking 3D Explorer instead. It also needs WebGL in the browser.
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