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Comet at Perihelion: Closest Approach

A 3D comet on a genuine eccentric Keplerian orbit: exact Kepler-equation motion makes it sweep equal areas in equal times, speeding up near perihelion, while its ion and dust tails grow and orient correctly with solar distance.

Space & Astronomy3DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

A comet on a highly eccentric orbit spends most of its life crawling through the outer darkness near aphelion, then whips around the Sun at perihelion in a fraction of the time — a direct, visible consequence of Kepler's second law of equal areas in equal times. This simulator solves Kepler's equation exactly every frame so the speed-up is physically genuine (verified live against the constant areal velocity), and grows a correctly-oriented ion and dust tail as solar heating intensifies near closest approach.

⚙ Under the hood

3D eccentric Keplerian comet orbit where the exact Kepler-equation solution drives genuine equal-area sweep (fastest at perihelion, slowest at aphelion), with a correctly Sun-facing ion tail and lagging dust tail that grow via a sublimation-rate model.

cometkeplers-second-lawperihelionorbital-mechanicsnew-year

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install