The three main elements of this applet are:

• The graph on the right side which always shows 400,000 years of temperature anomolies from modern times, derived from the Vostok Ice Core sample. As the three main elements of Earth orbit changes are enabled (see Checkboxes, below), a magenta-colored line plot is made which combines the simple sine ways of each element according to their periodicity.
  There is also a vertical slider on the left side of this graph which allows certain elements (again, see checkboxes below) to be changed to show their position or orientation back through the millennium.
• The Earth-Sun system which depicts the Earth in orbit around the Sun, as controlled by the various checkboxes. The applet begins with a caveat about the relative sizes of the elements.
• The controls:
  • The view button toggles between showing a projection which is above the orbital plane and one which is more sideways.
  • The Label checkbox which toggles the seasonal labels on/off. The default is on.
  • The eccentrictiy checkbox which enables (when checked) the orbital eccentricity to change when the "millennia slider" is used. The eccentricity curve displayed is a combination of the 95, 125 and 140Kyr cycles.
  • The precession checkbox which enables (when checked) the precession of the Earth axis to change when the "millennia slider" is used. The precession curve displayed is a combination of the 19 and 24Kyr cycles.
  • The tilt checkbox which enables (when checked) the tilt of the Earth axis to change when the "millennia slider" is used. The tilt curve displayed is the 41Kyr cycle.
  • The "lock season" checkbox which will cause the seasonal position in place when checked to remain as the "millennia slider" is used.
  • The "rotation" checkbox which (when enabled) shows the Earth in its daily rotation about the axis.
  • The "orbit" checkbox which (when enabled) causes the orbital motion of the Earth to be in correct proportion to the rotation.
  • The "faster orbit" checkbox accellerates the orbital motion

Orbital information obtained from various sources.

Go BACK to Explore the Atmsophere!