Gravity Sandbox
Experiment with mass, velocity and gravitational orbits
Experiment with how mass, starting position and velocity produce orbits, close encounters and escapes in a simplified simulation.
Key idea
An orbit is a continually changing trajectory under gravity, not a path that a body follows without a force. Initial position and velocity matter: a sideways launch can fall around another body instead of directly toward it.
Try this first
Place a larger body and add a smaller one nearby. Give the smaller body a sideways velocity and compare an orbit with a launch that escapes. Change only the starting velocity to see how strongly initial conditions affect the path.
How to get started
- Start with a preset, or use the body tools to place and launch your own bodies.
- Select a body to adjust its mass and velocity; compare the resulting paths.
- Pause to edit, adjust simulation speed to inspect motion, and use Restart to return to the last starting configuration.
Explore a little further
Try another experiment
Repeat a simple two-body setup with three slightly different starting speeds. Keep masses and separation unchanged. Compare a close approach, a bound path and an escaping path without changing several variables at once.
Good to know
This is a simplified numerical sandbox. Close encounters and large time steps can affect stability. The stylized wave layer is illustrative rather than a relativistic gravitational-wave calculation.
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