Solar System Views Notes

bold type highlights main points for quick skimming

About this site (see just below)
Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
E-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
Miscellaneous notes     © and such
Done on this page


 
 
 
  

  • ABOUT THIS SITE
  1. This web site focuses on schematic diagrams of the solar system (orbits and planet positions, may be updated occasionally) AS SEEN from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius and the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.
     
    The pictures align the Milky Way horizontally    , rather than at an angle as usually seen from Earth. As the home page indicates, note how steeply our Solar System is tilted compared to the galaxy. Not all books (even University texts) and films (sci-fi) show this angle correctly - a regular oversight resulting from earth-bound thinking. Yet anyone who studies the stars for a while (amateur and professional astronomers for example) realizes we are at an angle.
     
    Over and over I encountered books and films which didn't show our correct placement among the stars, so I started making sketches while imagining what a traveller* coming from some other system might see as they approach our world. Those sketches along with contemplating the night sky when it was clear and exploring some computer star programs when the skies were cloudy led to putting this site together...
    * could be an extraterrestrial or future human traveller
     
  2. Planetarium programs such as VoyagerII and Red Shift on the Mac (my work requires a Mac so I am less familiar with PC-compatible programs at present*) can, with a few settings, show you views even more detailed than what I present on this web site. Plus you may even watch dynamic views, with the planets speeded-up as they revolve around the Sun. You can track comets and interplanetary satellites, along with many other goodies. And of course plan your telescope outings.
     
    However, not everyone may have access to such programs, or have the time to set up extra-solar-system views, so I hope these views help a bit to fill the gap.
     
    An additional reason for the diagrams is to stretch our thinking beyond earth-based habits. And include a bit of accuracy. Even if we don't plan to travel away from Earth it helps the creative soul in humans to sometimes try out fresh views; especially so in terms of seeing our true place in the larger scheme of things. Part of that means getting correct the simple fact of how our solar system is aligned or tilted vis a vis the galaxy. It is such a simple point, really, we might as well be aware of it - and teach our children, instead of giving them inaccurate diagrams which various books and films unwittingly have.
     
    * If you use a PC-compatible star program that can show extra-solar-stem views (diagrams) and align the galaxy horizontally, please e-mail me (see below) with brief details so I can make a note for other web visitors, thanks.
     
  3. Why did I select the particular viewing angle I did for the main diagrams? In space there is no up or down (just gravity wells ...and maybe space-time warps if you are from another planet). A ship visiting our system might approach upside down or any other angle, and from almost any direction, subject to any navigational practicalities, of course.
     
    I chose horizontal to keep we Earth-familiar human visitors from experience unnecessary extra disorientation - growing up on Earth we are instinctively used to horizons, so out in the galaxy I decided to make the view of the galactic plane horizontal. I could have made it horizontal also by flipping it 180 degrees, but I had to make a choice. (If you are surfing from Australia you could turn your computer monitor upside down to see it "right side up" - but try at your own risk:-) Back to seriousness, why did I choose a view looking from the direction of Sagittarius? Why not from the nearest star to us? Why not from the Andromeda Galaxy? Or some other view? Maybe a view looking toward the constellation Hercules, the direction which our system is presently moving?
     
    Well, again to avoid any extra disorientation, it seemed the galaxy has two easy-to-understand locations for us humans: our own system and the centre of the galaxy. (The Delta Quadrant is a little less familiar to most of us.) Hence I picked a line (an approximation, for you detail-watchers) from galactic centre to us (which approaches more or less through the constellation Sagittarius.) Et voila! The views as you see resulted. Maybe if in the future if I have time and web space I will try some other views.
     
    next note    

    e-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
    Miscellaneous     Legal    top of this NOTES page 
    Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
     
     done on this page
     
     
     
     
     
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  • Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
    • This animation show the orbits of the inner planets in the same perspective as the main graphic. The gif graphic was created partway through 1998 and the start position of the planets represent where they each were at that time. In the graphic only the Earth moves, so as to reduce the size of the graphic for faster web loading. In real life of course the other planets move, but to show their differing velocities would have meant much more animation:-}
    • The gif opens in a separate window.

next note    

e-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
Miscellaneous     Legal    top of this NOTES page 
Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
 
 done on this page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
  

  • E-MAIL INFO AND LINK  
    You are invited to e-Mail me to say you visited (it is always encouraging to hear from visitors), to ask me questions (simple ones please) (or ask when I will finally manage to do the next update!), to make suggestions and note corrections. Since I sometimes have several web sites with the same reply e-mail address you might mention you are e-mailing from the Solar System site. Please, NO e-mail attachments without prior arrangement. Also, my schedule sometimes keeps me from replying for several days. But do write, I eventually reply:-)
     
    next note    

    e-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
    Miscellaneous     Legal    top of this NOTES page 
    Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
     
     done on this page
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
      
  •  B FENERTY (SITES BY, WHO IS)
    Home-grown Calgarian! Interested in amateur astronomy, member for several years in the fine Calgary centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Have done various interesting projects over the years in television, writing, fine arts. Among other things I maintain the centre's Calendar web pages (calendar current, upcoming, astronomy web-news, web links) (John Mirtle webmasters the main Calgary Home site - which has lots of links too, and be sure to check John's fine astrophotos too.) I also have a list of some miscellaneous web items I do from time to time.

     
    next note    

    e-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
    Miscellaneous     Legal    top of this NOTES page 
    Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
     
     done on this page
     
     
     
     
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
      

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

  • Various project ideas for students or, for that matter, anyone interested in our place in the stars are in a miscellaneous list which is currently off line, but do eMail me if you want the information.
     
  • If Milky Way area does not show clearly or at all on your screen, try increasing your monitor's contrast and brightness.
     
  • Missing Items on this Solar System Views site? This site has been revised and reactivated in a smaller form recently, so it is possible some links or references were overlooked and may not lead where they should at this time. Let me know if you find something amiss.
     
     
    next note    

    e-Mail info and link      B Fenerty (sites by, who is)    
    Miscellaneous     Legal    top of this NOTES page 
    Animated gif of Earth's Orbital Motion
     
     done on this page
     



 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
  


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

done on this page....

Close this window in most browsers to return to opening page

 HOME PAGE if you came here first

or    back to top of this NOTES page