Explore the five Sun-Earth Lagrange points - L1 and L2 about 1.5 million km from Earth, L4 and L5 at 60 deg leading and trailing - with SOHO and JWST markers as teaching craft.
Play orbit turns the co-rotating frame so Earth, L1-L5, and craft markers keep their relative geometry while they travel around the Sun.
L1 and L2 are about 1.5 million km from Earth on the Sun-Earth line. L4 and L5 sit 60 deg ahead and behind Earth. SOHO teaches near L1; JWST teaches near L2. This is an educational CR3BP sketch - not an ephemeris - and not a planet tour like Solar System 3D Explorer.
Lagrange Points 3D Explorer
Explore the five Sun-Earth Lagrange points - L1 and L2 about 1.5 million km from Earth, L4 and L5 at 60 deg leading and trailing - with SOHO and JWST markers as teaching craft.
Drag to orbit the view, scroll or pinch to zoom, and press Play orbit. Highlight L1 through L5, SOHO, or JWST to fill the facts panel.
The facts panel lists L1/L2 about 1.5 million km from Earth, L4/L5 at 60 deg, and the example craft stations.
- Sun-Earth CR3BP sketch with five labeled Lagrange points
- L1 and L2 about 1.5 million km from Earth on the line of centers
- L4 and L5 equilateral with Sun and Earth (60 deg)
- SOHO near L1 and JWST near L2 as teaching craft
- Play orbit / Pause orbit for a slow co-rotating beat
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Teachers use it to place JWST at L2, students jump L1-L5 buttons to read geometry, and curious readers compare the five points without a textbook figure alone.
| Quantity | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| L1 / L2 from Earth | about 1.5 million km | Standard Sun-Earth CR3BP order of magnitude |
| L4 / L5 geometry | 60 deg leading / trailing | Equilateral triangle with Sun and Earth |
| Example craft | SOHO near L1; JWST near L2 | Mission station summaries |
| 1 AU | about 149,597,871 km | IAU astronomical unit |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
The scene is an educational visualization - distances are compressed and L-point positions are a teaching CR3BP sketch, not a high-fidelity ephemeris.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Lagrange Points 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes a Solar System 3D Explorer for planets and a ISS Orbit Tracker for low-Earth orbit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Lagrange Points 3D Explorer show?
The five Sun-Earth Lagrange points with Earth on a 1 AU orbit ring, L1/L2 about 1.5 million km from Earth on the line of centers, L4/L5 at 60 deg, and SOHO / JWST teaching markers.
How far are L1 and L2 from Earth?
About 1.5 million km (roughly 0.01 AU) for the Sun-Earth system - the order of magnitude used in classroom summaries for SOHO and JWST stations.
What are L4 and L5?
Leading and trailing points that form equilateral triangles with the Sun and Earth, 60 deg ahead and behind Earth on the shared orbit.
Where is JWST in this scene?
Near Sun-Earth L2, beyond Earth on the line away from the Sun - a teaching marker, not a live telemetry stream.
Is this a full n-body simulation?
No. It is an educational CR3BP sketch with compressed scales. It does not integrate full solar-system gravity or publish ephemerides.
How is this different from Solar System 3D Explorer?
Solar System 3D Explorer tours planets. Lagrange Points 3D Explorer focuses on the five equilibrium points of the Sun-Earth pair and craft that use them.