The Center | Author
"Top Down" View of the Solar System Right Now
As soon as the applet loads up, you can see a view of the inner planets of the Solar System (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) based on their positions right this minute. The date and time are will be displayed in the upper lefthand corner.
By manipulating the buttons along the top, you can change to a view of the outer planets or to the Earth and Moon.
You can also make the planets MOVE by pressing the "forward" and "back" buttons. The speed of motion is controlled by the menu at the top right. Pressing "reset" will bring the planets back to the current positions.