Home▸Space & Astronomy▸Lagrange Points — Top-Down Orbital View

Lagrange Points — Top-Down Orbital View (2D)

Interactive 2D companion to the 3D Lagrange-points terrain simulator: watch the five L1-L5 equilibrium points of a rotating two-body system from directly above, launch a test particle at any point, and tune the mass ratio to see L4/L5 stability appear and vanish.

Space & Astronomy2DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion integrates the exact same circular restricted three-body equations of motion as the 3D Lagrange-points terrain simulator, viewed from directly above in the synodic (co-rotating) frame instead of as a potential landscape. Drag the mass-ratio slider to move all five equilibrium points, launch a test particle at any of them, and watch it hold station, drift, or escape depending on whether that point is a stable well or a saddle — including the moment L4/L5 lose stability once μ crosses the Routh criterion.

⚙ Under the hood

Watch the five Lagrange points of a rotating two-body system from directly above, tune the mass ratio, and launch a test particle to see which points hold it stable and which let it escape.

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install