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Exoplanet Detection: Transit & Radial Velocity

Interactive 3D simulation of the two leading exoplanet-detection methods: the transit method, where a planet's silhouette dims its star's light in a periodic dip, and the radial-velocity method, where the star's own gravitational wobble produces a Doppler-shifted velocity curve.

Space & Astronomy3DModerate60 FPS

Almost no exoplanet has ever been seen directly — nearly all of the thousands now confirmed were found by watching their host star for telltale signs of an unseen companion. This simulation shows the two workhorse techniques at once: the transit method, which catches the tiny, periodic dimming as a planet's disc crosses in front of its star, and the radial-velocity method, which catches the star's own small orbital wobble around the system's centre of mass as a Doppler-shifted velocity curve. Adjust the planet's size, mass, orbital distance, and the system's inclination to our line of sight to see how each method responds — and why real discoveries lean on both together.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive 3D simulation of the two leading exoplanet-detection techniques: the transit method, where a planet crossing its star produces a periodic dip in a live brightness curve, and the radial-velocity method, where the star's gravitational wobble produces a Doppler-shifted velocity curve, both responding live to planet size, mass, orbital distance and inclination.

Three.jsastronomyexoplanetsorbital mechanicsspacedata visualization

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