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When to Use the Yarkovsky Effect 3D Explorer - Best Sessions and Limits


Open Yarkovsky Effect 3D Explorer when you want to see why asteroid Bennu's measured orbit is slowly shrinking, or to teach the general prograde-grows / retrograde-shrinks rule side by side - not to run a to-scale orbital-dynamics propagation or watch a live tracking feed.


A prograde-vs-retrograde lesson

A lesson starts on Retrograde (Bennu, measured) and scrubs the elapsed-years slider to 100 to see the orbit ring shrink and the cumulative-drift readout grow negative, then switches to Prograde (teaching mirror) and repeats the scrub to see the same magnitude drive the orbit outward instead.


Sessions this explorer does not fit

Sessions this page does not fit are running an impulsive gravity-assist maneuver - use the Gravitational Slingshot 3D Explorer for that - or checking a tidal-disruption boundary - use the Roche Limit 3D Explorer. Walk the controls in the step-by-step guide.

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