Trans-Neptunian Object Classification Diagram

Beyond Neptune, thousands of icy bodies fall into distinct dynamical families depending on how their orbits interact with the giant planet's gravity. This simulator plots 1,200 trans-Neptunian objects on the same semi-major-axis-vs-eccentricity diagram astronomers use to classify the real Kuiper Belt, coloring every point by its dynamical class — Classical (Cubewano), Resonant, Scattered Disk or Detached — using the same perihelion, aphelion and mean-motion-resonance criteria as the field. Drag the semi-major axis, eccentricity and inclination sliders to move a highlighted test object anywhere from 30 to 150 AU and watch its classification, resonance lock and orbital period update live, while a Kepler-equation phase clock shows its true position advancing along its own ellipse in real time.