animate_system_3d: Animate the System Over Time in Interactive 3D

In orbitr: A Tidy Physics Engine for Building and Visualizing Orbital Simulations

Animate the System Over Time in Interactive 3D

Description

The 3D counterpart to [animate_system()]. Builds a 'plotly' 3D scene with the bodies as moving markers and an interactive Play / Pause control plus a time slider. Optionally shows the full orbit paths drawn faintly behind.

Usage

animate_system_3d(sim_data, fps = 20, duration = 10, trails = FALSE)

Arguments

sim_data	A tibble output from [simulate_system()].
fps	Frames per second target for playback. Default '20'. Combined with 'duration', controls how many time steps are sampled into frames.
duration	Total playback length in seconds. Default '10'.
trails	Logical. If 'TRUE' (the default), the full orbit paths are drawn faintly behind the animated markers.

Value

A 'plotly' HTML widget with a built-in play button and time slider.

Examples

create_system() |>
  add_body("Earth", mass = mass_earth) |>
  add_body("Moon",  mass = mass_moon,
           x = distance_earth_moon, vy = speed_moon, vz = 100) |>
  simulate_system(time_step = seconds_per_hour, duration = seconds_per_day * 30) |>
  animate_system_3d()

orbitr documentation built on Oct. 2, 2026, 1:06 a.m.