Sol Orrery

Support and privacy

What it is

A real-time solar system. Every position is computed from published orbital elements for the date and time you choose — the planets, 21 moons, eight comets, 43 working spacecraft and about 9,000 satellites in Earth orbit. It runs entirely offline.

Getting around

• Drag to orbit, pinch to zoom.
• Browse (top right) lists everything: planets, moons, comets, spacecraft, vantage points and places you can stand.
• Vantage points move you out in steps — from the inner planets to the Milky Way.
• Stand on a world puts you on a surface. Drag to look around; Leave surface returns you to the orrery.
• The time controls run from real time to 100 million years per second, forwards or backwards. Now snaps back to the present.
• True scale swaps the readable layout for real sizes at real distances.

Troubleshooting

• Slow or warm on an older device: turn off Satellites and Orbits in the dock — the satellite swarm is the most demanding thing on screen.
• The view looks empty: you may have zoomed past everything. Tap Browse → Vantage points → All planets.
• Dates look wrong: check whether time is running fast — the rate is shown beside the transport controls. Tap Now.
• Anything else: force-quit and reopen. Nothing is stored, so nothing is lost.

How accurate is it?

Planet positions use JPL's approximate Keplerian elements, accurate to roughly a degree within 1800–2050, and the lunar theory is good to about a tenth of a degree — so eclipse timings are approximate to a few minutes. Spacecraft paths between real flyby dates are interpolated. The app states these limits on the panel for each object rather than hiding them. It is built for understanding, not for navigation or observation planning.

Privacy Policy

Effective 26 September 2026. Applies to Sol Orrery version 1.0.

Sol Orrery collects no data of any kind.

• No data collection. The app gathers no names, email addresses, identifiers, contacts, location or usage analytics.
• No network access. Every calculation, map and 3D model is bundled inside the app and runs on your device. The app makes no network requests. The only exception is if you deliberately tap a credit link, which opens your browser.
• No accounts, no advertising, no tracking, no third-party SDKs.
• No data sharing — there is no data to share, sell or disclose.

Because nothing is collected from anyone, the app is equally safe for children and adults.

If this ever changes, this page will be updated before the change ships.

Credits

• Surface maps: Solar System Scope, CC BY 4.0, derived from NASA imagery.
• Rendering: three.js (MIT).
• Ephemerides: JPL "Approximate Positions of the Planets"; IAU WGCCRE rotation models.