Solar System Help

The settings in this view control the display of planets, moons, and other "minor bodies" in the solar system (asteroids and comets), as well as artificial Earth-orbiting satellites.

Planet & Moon Display

• Show Planets: Displays planets and moons in the sky chart.
• with Grids: Shows planets and moons with surface coordinate grids.
• with Axes: Shows the rotational axes of planets and moons. (Plus/Pro only)
• with Phases: Shows planets and moons with their night sides shaded.
• with Atmospheres: Shows the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Titan. (Plus/Pro only)
• with Surfaces: Shows planet and moons with realistic surfaces using NASA mission data.
• with Surface Labels: Shows labels for named planetary surface features. (Plus/Pro only)
• with Names: Shows names next to planets and moons.
• Show Lunar Feature Outlines: Displays outlines of selected Moon features.
• Jupiter GRS Longitude: Adjust the longitude of Jupiter's Great Red Spot for transit predictions.

Minor Body Display

• Show Asteroids: Sets whether asteroids are displayed.
• Show Comets: Sets whether comets are displayed.
• Show Satellites: Sets whether satellites are displayed.

Orbits, Paths & Shadows (Plus/Pro only)

• Show Planet Orbits: Shows orbital paths of the major planets around the Sun.
• Show Moon Orbits: Shows orbital paths of the moons around their primary planet.
• Selected Object Orbit: Shows the orbit of the selected solar system object.
• Selected Object Path: Shows the apparent path of a solar system object across the sky.
• Earth & Moon Shadow Circles: Shows the Earth's or Moon's umbral and penumbral shadows.

Update Minor Body Orbit Data (Plus/Pro only)

Tap this button to download new asteroid, comet, and satellite orbit data from the Minor Planet Center and Celestrak.