A work in progress screenshot of some of the new features in Universe Sandbox 2:
- Binary orbits with a single click
- Add selectable calculated points to the scene (like the Barycenter of selected objects)
This scene was created totally with the mouse:
1 - Add 3 stars with the New Body tool.
2 - Select two of them with the multiselect tool (Alpha Centauri A & Alpha Centauri B) and click on the Binary orbit button (not pictured)
3 - While the stars are still selected click on the Add Barycenter button.
4 - Select the Barycenter and the remaining star (the Sun).
5 - Click on the Binary orbit button again.
6 - Select the individual stars and change their color (early developer UI of this ability is shown)
While it's not obvious from the screenshot the browser window interface (on the left) is much faster and more reliable. It's almost been completely rewritten. The look of the pages themselves will be updated before the final release in early 2010.
So what's special about the screenshot?- Alpha Centauri A & Alpha Centauri B are in a binary orbit of each other.
- The Sun is in a binary orbit of the group (A & B).
- This was all accomplished using the new interface.
Here are some animations from Wikipedia that illustrate both binary orbits and what a barycenter is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barycenter#AnimationsAlpha Centauri A's mass isn't accurate in this screenshot, for testing purposes I had set A=1.5 suns and B=0.5 suns.
Universe Sandbox 2 will be released in early 2010.
General Category
Print
