Watch Io, Europa, and Ganymede keep a Laplace 1:2:4 period beat - mean motions near 4:2:1 - with flash marks when the three nearly align.
Play orbits runs the Galilean Laplace chain. A white flash marks near-alignments of the three moons.
Io : Europa : Ganymede periods about 1 : 2 : 4 (mean motions about 4 : 2 : 1). Another classic pair for literacy: Neptune : Pluto about 3 : 2. This isolates the resonance mechanic Solar System 3D Explorer does not teach.
Orbital Resonance 3D Explorer
Watch Io, Europa, and Ganymede keep a Laplace 1:2:4 period beat - mean motions near 4:2:1 - with flash marks when the three nearly align.
Drag to orbit the view, scroll or pinch to zoom, and press Play orbits. Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Neptune:Pluto 3:2 fill the facts panel.
The facts panel lists periods about 1:2:4, mean motions about 4:2:1, and Neptune:Pluto about 3:2 as a second classic pair.
- Jupiter plus three teaching moons on coplanar rings
- Locked period ratios Io:Europa:Ganymede about 1:2:4
- Conjunction flash on near three-moon alignments
- Neptune:Pluto 3:2 literacy button
- Distinct from Solar System 3D Explorer and Kepler Orbits 3D Explorer
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Teachers use it to show why 1:2:4 is a beat, students count Io laps while Europa and Ganymede keep the chain, and curious readers compare this abstract mechanic to full planet tours.
| Quantity | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Io : Europa : Ganymede periods | about 1 : 2 : 4 | Laplace resonance classroom summary |
| Mean-motion ratio | about 4 : 2 : 1 | Inverse of the period chain |
| Neptune : Pluto | about 3 : 2 | Classic Kuiper mean-motion pair |
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 - circular coplanar orbits and exact integer ratios are teaching geometry, not a forced-eccentricity N-body Laplace integration.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Orbital Resonance 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes a Solar System 3D Explorer for planet tours and a Kepler Orbits 3D Explorer for ellipse laws.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Orbital Resonance 3D Explorer show?
Io, Europa, and Ganymede on rings locked to period ratios about 1:2:4, with a flash when the three nearly align, plus Neptune:Pluto 3:2 literacy.
What is the Laplace 1:2:4 resonance?
The three moons keep periods near 1:2:4 (mean motions near 4:2:1). When Io finishes two orbits, Europa finishes about one, and Ganymede finishes about half.
How is this different from Solar System 3D Explorer?
Solar System 3D Explorer tours many planets. Orbital Resonance 3D Explorer isolates the mean-motion beat so the 1:2:4 pattern is easy to see.
What about Neptune and Pluto?
They keep an about 3:2 mean-motion pair - a second classic example listed for literacy while the scene animates the Galilean chain.
Is this a full N-body simulation?
No. Orbits are circular teaching rings with locked period ratios. It does not integrate mutual gravity or forced eccentricities.
What does the white flash mean?
A near-alignment of Io, Europa, and Ganymede at a shared longitude - a visual beat for the resonance, not a precise conjunction ephemeris.