Planetary Orbit Map Pattern using Python

 

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

import numpy as np

planets = [

    (1, 0.0167, 'gray'),      

    (1.5, 0.0934, 'red'),     

    (0.72, 0.0067, 'orange'), 

    (0.39, 0.206, 'blue'),    

    (5.2, 0.0489, 'brown'),   

]

theta = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 500)

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(6, 6))

ax.set_aspect('equal')

ax.set_title('Planetary Orbit Map', fontsize=16)

ax.set_facecolor("black")

for a, e, color in planets:

    b = a * np.sqrt(1 - e**2) 

    x = a * np.cos(theta) - a * e  

    y = b * np.sin(theta)

    ax.plot(x, y, color=color, linewidth=2, label=f'a={a}, e={e:.3f}')

ax.plot(0, 0, 'o', color='yellow', markersize=12, label='Sun')

ax.set_xlim(-6, 6)

ax.set_ylim(-6, 6)

ax.legend(loc='upper right', fontsize=8)

ax.axis('off')

plt.show()

#source code --> clcoding.com 

Code Explanation:

1. Import Libraries

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

import numpy as np

matplotlib.pyplot: For plotting.

numpy: For numerical operations (e.g., trigonometric functions and arrays).

2. Define Planet Parameters

planets = [

    (1, 0.0167, 'gray'),      # Earth

    (1.5, 0.0934, 'red'),     # Mars

    (0.72, 0.0067, 'orange'), # Venus

    (0.39, 0.206, 'blue'),    # Mercury

    (5.2, 0.0489, 'brown'),   # Jupiter

]

Each tuple represents a planet:

a: Semi-major axis (how far the planet is from the Sun on average).

e: Eccentricity (how stretched the orbit is; 0 = circle, close to 1 = elongated).

color: For visualization.

3. Generate Angular Values

theta = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 500)

Creates 500 points from 0 to 2π radians to represent the angle around a circle (full orbit).

4. Create Plot

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 8))

ax.set_aspect('equal')

ax.set_title('Planetary Orbit Map', fontsize=16)

ax.set_facecolor("black")

Initializes a square figure and axes.

set_aspect('equal'): Ensures x and y scales are the same, preserving orbit shape.

Background color is set to black for space-like look.

5. Plot Orbits

for a, e, color in planets:

    b = a * np.sqrt(1 - e**2)  # semi-minor axis from semi-major and eccentricity

    x = a * np.cos(theta) - a * e  # orbit in x, offset for Sun at focus

    y = b * np.sin(theta)          # orbit in y

    ax.plot(x, y, color=color, linewidth=2, label=f'a={a}, e={e:.3f}')

This loop:

Calculates the elliptical shape for each planet.

x and y define the shape of the orbit using parametric equations.

-a * e recenters the ellipse so the Sun sits at one focus (per Kepler's First Law).

Draws the orbit with the specified color.

6. Draw the Sun

ax.plot(0, 0, 'o', color='yellow', markersize=12, label='Sun')

Puts the Sun at the origin (0,0) in bright yellow.

7. Customize Axes

ax.set_xlim(-6, 6)

ax.set_ylim(-6, 6)

ax.legend(loc='upper right', fontsize=8)

ax.axis('off')

Sets limits to frame the orbits.

Adds a legend with orbit info.

Hides axis lines/ticks for clean appearance.

8. Display Plot

plt.show()

Displays the final orbit map.