<p>If all you need is a quick and free tool to visualize orbits around earth, websites such as the following might be enough:</p>
<p>First, the very simple <a href="https://orbitalmechanics.info/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">orbitalmechanics.info</a>, where you can just ignore the &quot;add launch&quot; option:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/6WKA0.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/6WKA0.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>And then, the more artsy <a href="https://thehappykoala.github.io/Harmony-of-the-Spheres/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Harmony-of-the-Spheres</a>, which can also visualize some other systems.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mxzuZ.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mxzuZ.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Maybe that already helps.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-07T01:43:51.957Z
2020-10-07T01:43:51.957Z
SpaceCore
<p>To get a grip on orbital elements, I'd like to play with a ready interactive visualization like in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe_Sandbox" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Universe Sandbox</a>. E.g. drag the inclination slider and see immediately what happens to the satellite orbit. Are there any free tools capable of doing this? I wasn't able to find such a function in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Celestia</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellarium_(software)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Stellarium</a> so far.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Ocb2d.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Ocb2d.png" alt="screen shot of Universe Sandbox orbit UI" /></a></p>

<orbital-mechanics><orbital-elements><artificial-satellite><software><universe-sandbox>
Easy interactive visualization of orbital elements
Xpector
# Easy interactive visualization of orbital elements

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-06)

To get a grip on orbital elements, I'd like to play with a ready interactive visualization like in [Universe Sandbox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe_Sandbox). E.g. drag the inclination slider and see immediately what happens to the satellite orbit. Are there any free tools capable of doing this? I wasn't able to find such a function in [Celestia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestia) or [Stellarium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellarium_(software)) so far.

[![screen shot of Universe Sandbox orbit UI](https://i.sstatic.net/Ocb2d.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/Ocb2d.png)

**Tags:** orbital-mechanics, orbital-elements, artificial-satellite, software, universe-sandbox

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-10-07. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

If all you need is a quick and free tool to visualize orbits around earth, websites such as the following might be enough:

First, the very simple [orbitalmechanics.info](https://orbitalmechanics.info/), where you can just ignore the "add launch" option:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/6WKA0.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/6WKA0.png)

And then, the more artsy [Harmony-of-the-Spheres](https://thehappykoala.github.io/Harmony-of-the-Spheres/), which can also visualize some other systems.
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mxzuZ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mxzuZ.jpg)

Maybe that already helps.


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