buistvn / solar-sim

3D simulator that displays an interactive model of the solar system

Solar Sim

Solar Sim is an interactive 3D simulator of the solar system which includes the Sun and the planets that orbit it. All of these entities are displayed with their own texture maps. The Sun is located at the origin and emits light in all directions. All of the planet sizes, distances, and orbital periods are to scale.

Technologies

• OpenGL

Installation

To set up a local copy of the project, follow these steps.

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/buistvn/solar-sim.git

Usage

To run the project, follow these steps.

1. Open the solution in Visual Studio
2. Select Build > Clean Solution, then select Build > Build Sample, and then select Debug > Start Without Debugging
3. Interact with the simulation using the controls below

   - Click and drag to move the camera
   - Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out
   - Press 0 to toggle the Sun's light
   - Press 1 to toggle the orbital paths
   - Press 2 to switch to the outside view
   - Press f to pause the animations