Finding a World Between Two Suns
adithiguru25
What happens when an Earth-sized world orbits two suns? Explore the real binary TOI-1338, witness its celestial double sunsets, then change a star’s mass and let gravity decide the planet’s fate.
What it does
This simulation models a hypothetical Earth-sized desert planet orbiting the real binary star system TOI-1338 using Newtonian three-body dynamics and a Velocity Verlet integrator. The two observed stars orbit their shared barycenter while the planet evolves under their combined gravity. Its orbital behavior is evaluated against a Holman–Wiegert circumbinary stability boundary, while the binary parameters are based on published astronomical observations and dynamical solutions.
From the planet's surface, both stars move across a procedurally generated desert environment using their calculated positions and the planet's rotation, allowing natural double sunsets to emerge from the simulation rather than being scripted. A scientific HUD displays the evolving system, orbital parameters, and stellar masses, while a live graph tracks the individual and combined stellar flux received by the planet relative to Earth.
The main experiment lets the user change Star B's mass and observe how the gravitational system responds. The binary is rebalanced around its barycenter and the updated dynamics are allowed to evolve naturally, with no predetermined outcome. The planet and surface environment are hypothetical, while the simulation focuses on making the underlying orbital dynamics and stellar irradiance visible and interactive in real time.