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The Open Source Physics Project is supported by NSF DUE-0442581.

Computer Program Detail Page

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Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model
written by Mario Belloni and Todd Timberlake
The Sidereal and Solar Day Javascript Model illustrates the difference between the sidereal and solar day. The planets of our solar system both orbit around Sun and rotate on their axis. These two rotations allow for multiple definitions of what a day is. The sidereal day is the day according to the stars. It is the time it takes for a point on a planet facing a particular star to then face it again. On Earth, this time is 23 hours and 56 minutes. The unit of time called a solar day is the time it takes for a point on a planet facing Sun to then face Sun again. On Earth, this time is 24 hours. The difference between the sidereal and solar day is due to the orbital motion of the planet. For the planets with their orbital motion in the same direction as their rotation (Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune), the solar day is longer than the sidereal day. For Venus, the only planet with retrograde rotation, the sidereal day is longer than the solar day.

This simulation shows the difference between the sidereal and solar day by showing the orbit and rotation of a planet (blue) around sun (orange). It uses an orange arrow to represent where Sun would be seen in the sky relative to the background stars. Users can toggle between the geocentric and heliocentric point of view. The parameters are initially set to model a general direct rotation scenario. The user can also select a planet with a retrograde rotation, and the Earth-Sun system can also be shown which simulates the exact the orbit and rotation rates of Earth.

The Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model was developed using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) version 5.  It is distributed as a ready-to-run html page and requires only a browser with JavaScript support.
1 source code document is available
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Astronomy
- Astronomy Education
= Curricula
- Fundamentals
= Night Sky
- The Sun
- Lower Undergraduate
- High School
- Upper Undergraduate
- Instructional Material
= Interactive Simulation
= Simulation
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Learners
- Educators
- application/javascript
- application/zip
- text/html
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Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivatives 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:
Mario Belloni and Todd Timberlake
Keywords:
EJSS, Earh, OpenSOurce Physics, Sun, day, javascript, sidereal, solar, synodic, year
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created September 2, 2013 by Mario Belloni
Record Updated:
November 12, 2021 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
September 2, 2013
Other Collections:

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
M. Belloni and T. Timberlake, Computer Program SIDEREAL AND SOLAR DAY JS MODEL, Version 1.0 (2013), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567).
AJP/PRST-PER
M. Belloni and T. Timberlake, Computer Program SIDEREAL AND SOLAR DAY JS MODEL, Version 1.0 (2013), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567>.
APA Format
Belloni, M., & Timberlake, T. (2013). Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved October 14, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567
Chicago Format
Belloni, Mario, and Todd Timberlake. "Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model." Version 1.0. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567 (accessed 14 October 2024).
MLA Format
Belloni, Mario, and Todd Timberlake. Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model. Vers. 1.0. Computer software. 2013. 14 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Author = "Mario Belloni and Todd Timberlake", Title = {Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model}, Month = {September}, Year = {2013} }
Refer Export Format

%A Mario Belloni %A Todd Timberlake %T Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model %D September 2, 2013 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567 %O 1.0 %O application/javascript

EndNote Export Format

%0 Computer Program %A Belloni, Mario %A Timberlake, Todd %D September 2, 2013 %T Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model %7 1.0 %8 September 2, 2013 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12993&DocID=3567


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The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

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Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model:

Covers the Same Topic As Sidereal and Solar Day

This simulation is the Javascript version of the Java-based Sidereal and Solar Model.

relation by Mario Belloni
Is Based On Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool

Use the Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool to edit and to explore the source code for the Sidereal and Solar Day JS Model.

relation by Lyle Barbato

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