Computing positions of celestial bodies
My own program predicting positions of planets and comets from orbital elements, including parabolic and hyperbolic orbits.
3rd place, SOČ physics (2023)
- Where
- Secondary-school research competition SOČ (physics), Zlín Observatory
- Supervisor
- Ing. Vratislav Zíka
- When
- 09/2022 – 06/2023
From orbital elements the program solves Kepler's equation and computes ephemerides: right ascension, declination, distances from Earth and Sun, and elongation. It handles elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic orbits, e.g. comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS).
The interactive Solar System at the top of this site computes planetary positions on the same principle, and comet C/2017 K2 flies along the orbit from my input data.
Key results
- 3rd place in SOČ (physics)
- Elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic orbits