Individual Project Proposal: "Simulation of the Solar System"

Proposer: Iain Stewart, room 348, ext 58349, e-mail ids@doc.ic.ac.uk


The idea of this project is to simulate the motions of the bodies of the
solar system (or indeed any system of gravitating bodies) by discrete
event simulation, i.e. chopping time up into little steps and computing
how far the planets move in each step.

Within this broad description there are many ways the project could go.
There is the issue of producing a graphical presentation of the
motions: a view from above? from the surface of the earth (or any other
planet?) from a moving vantage point such as a spacecraft? There is the
possibility to study different numerical computation approaches and see
which are fastest and/or most accurate, and why. You could also investigate
the "fragility" of the solar system by simulating passing stars or other
perturbing bodies.

Simulation of the early solar system, when planetesimals were crashing
together into (eventually!) the planets we are left with today, is another
possibility. This would be more ambitious, as not only are there more bodies
but they interact non-gravitationally (they bump and smash and merge!)
as well as purely gravitationally.

There are undoubtedly many other possible angles too. I would be delighted
to hear your own thoughts on what could go into this project!