Immersive Solar System
Experience time across the solar system with interactive 3D visualizations. Use free AR and VR on your phone or headset — no app install required.
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🔴Mars: The Red Planet
Mars has a day length very similar to Earth - just 37 minutes longer! But a Martian year is nearly twice as long. Watch how time passes on the Red Planet compared to our home world.
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Day Length
24 hours 37 minutes
Year Length
687 Earth days
Axial Tilt
25.2° (similar to Earth)
🟠Jupiter: The Speed Demon
Jupiter rotates faster than any other planet - a day is less than 10 hours! Watch it spin at incredible speeds. Try setting the time to 50x to see how many Jupiter days pass in one Earth day.
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⚡ Fun Fact
Because Jupiter spins so fast, it's actually squashed at the poles! The planet bulges at the equator due to centrifugal force. You would experience 2.4 sunrises and sunsets in a single Earth day if you lived on Jupiter!
🟡Venus: The Backwards World
Venus is truly bizarre - it rotates backwards (retrograde) and so slowly that a day is longer than a year! Watch the planet rotate counter-clockwise while all other planets spin clockwise.
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🌅 Backwards Sunrise
On Venus, the sun rises in the west and sets in theeast because of its retrograde rotation!
Day: 243 Earth days | Year: 225 Earth days | You'd celebrate 2 birthdays between sunrises!
⚪Mercury: The Birthday Paradox
Mercury's orbit is so fast that you'd have 2 birthdays during a single sunrise-to-sunrise! A Mercury year (88 days) is shorter than a Mercury day (176 days). Mind-bending!
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🎂 Time Paradox
On Mercury, you would celebrate two birthdays (complete orbits around the Sun) during a single day (sunrise to sunrise).
This happens because Mercury's rotation and orbit are in a 3:2 resonance. It's the only planet where this occurs!
🎮 Interactive Controls Guide
Camera Controls
- 🖱️ Drag - Rotate the view around the planet
- 🔍 Scroll - Zoom in and out
- ⌨️ Arrow Keys - Rotate view (when focused)
Time Controls
- ⏱️ Slider - Adjust time speed (0-100x)
- ⏸️ Pause Button - Freeze time
- 🔄 Reset Button - Start over from noon
- 🌗 Terminator Button - Toggle day/night line
💡 Pro Tip: Set the time speed to 50x or higher to see dramatic differences in rotation speeds. The yellow line on each planet shows the day/night terminator - the line between sunlight and darkness.
🚀 Explore Each Planet
🌌Explore the Entire Solar System
Fly through space! Click any planet to zoom in and learn about it. Watch how fast planets orbit the Sun - Mercury races around while Neptune takes 165 Earth years!
👩🏫 For Teachers: Great for teaching orbital mechanics, relative distances, and Kepler's laws. Have students predict which planets move fastest!
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👁️Stand on the Surface of Mars
What would it look like if you were actually standing on Mars? See the butterscotch sky, watch Phobos rise, and observe how the sun looks smaller and dimmer from so far away.
👨👩👧 For Parents: Kids love the "you are there" perspective! Pause and ask: "Why is the sky pink?" (Dust in atmosphere!) "Why do we see two moons?" (Mars has Phobos and Deimos!)
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Sunrise Time
Phobos rises in the WEST and sets 3 times per day!
Sky Color
Butterscotch/pink from iron oxide dust particles
Sun Size
Only 67% as large as it appears from Earth
🖼️360° Panoramic Views
Look around in your browser, or tap Enter VR on a Meta Quest to stand inside real NASA panoramas.
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Learn More About Planetary Time
Explore our full library of educational content, interactive calculators, and thought experiments about time across the solar system.
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TATSSP is 100% free for students, teachers, and parents. We're growing through word-of-mouth and looking for sponsors who believe in making space education accessible to everyone.
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