Search results for "solar-system gallery "
3D Solar System - part III
This is a pilot project exploring ways to use simulation in learning. The simulation is of the Solar System, and this is an exploration of ways in which added interactivity can facilitate learning.
So far we have a Director movie which simulates the Solar System in 3D. The relative sizes, orbital periods and distances from the Sun are fed into the engine, and ways of scaling logarythmically are being explored.
The functionality currently allows the user to alter the focus of the camera to all the planets and moons, and the position of the camera in relation to its focus (zoom, vertical pan). Users can also enlarge or decrease the size of the planets, and the speeds of their orbital periods and spin.
Issues to explore now are what kinds of response should be developed. It is envisaged that the functionality should include:
- Context sensitive info menu providing data about each planet, images from satellites, etc
- Dynamic responses to changes in the planets' size, period or spin - eg shorter days / longer days, consequences for satellites being swallowed, becoming so large that their gravity alters orbital paths, consequences for life-sustaining systems, etc. [With apologies to the excellent Planet 10 by Wired Science!]
- Other similar movies containing similar simulations focussed on :
- man-made satellites in space
- views from the surface of each planet
The project grew from something I began in 2002 after Director 8.5 was released, and a prototype was created. See the original prototypes: v1 (Feb 2002) & v2 (Jul 2003), bearing in mind it is pretty bloody crap :-)
3D Solar System - part II
A Director movie showing the orbits of the planets around the sun in the solar system. The planets were modelled in Lightwave, textures in Photoshop, and the textures and animation applied in Director 8.5 using the 3D engine and Lingo.
So far the relative speeds of the orbits are correct, as are the relative spins of the planets and sun. Obviously things are speeded up to relieve the profoundly slow real-time experience. The planets and sun are also scaled up quite unrealistically so they are all visible at once...
Added:
- Switchable camera views - click on a planet in the menu to see the view from nearby that planet. You can now see how the planets seem to move backwards and forwards in the sky, which I coud never get my head round before...
Still to do:
- If I feel really ambitious, and have lots of time on my hands (;-p), I might have a stab at some elliptical orbits and pluto's tilted orbit...
Click on the link to see the movie, bearing in mind it currently weighs about 555kb ;-)
3D Solar System
A Director movie showing the orbits of the planets around the sun in the solar system. The planets were modelled in Lightwave, textures in Photoshop, and the textures and animation applied in Director 8.5 using the 3D engine and Lingo. Man, Director is fantastic!
So far the relative speeds of the orbits are correct, as are the relative spins of the planets and sun. Still to do:
- get the proportions of the planets' sizes and distance to the sun right (hey, this is complex maths!)
- add switchable cameras so you can choose your view. (Also thinking of having a user-controlled spaceship fly around, but will drop it if the thing slows it down horribly...)
- If I feel really ambitious, and have lots of time on my hands (;-p), I might even have a stab at some elliptical orbits and pluto's tilted orbit...
Click on the link to see the movie, bearing in mind it currently weighs about 295kb :-)
