Copyright
(C) 2003-2010 by Aldo Vitagliano
Copyright
Information: Text and images in this site may
be freely reproduced, provided credit is given to the author.
The SOLEX page
What is SOLEX
?
Basically,
SOLEX is a free computer program modelling the N-body dynamics of the
Solar System, and it is the result of a long and patient amatorial work
by the author (Aldo Vitagliano).
Its heart is
a powerful numerical integrator, and the many additional functions make
it a greatly flexible program, which at the same time is very simple to
use and very powerful in its performances. It can just give aesthetic pleasure
and help in identifying sky objects, or it can be used by an experienced
researcher as a tool to investigate aspects of the solar system dynamics
such impact probabilities and chaotic motion. More ...
Last but not least, the software package contains a companion
orbit-determination program (EXORB), suitable
for the determination of orbital elements of minor bodies (asteroids and
comets) from their astrometric observations.
Just to give the flavour of some unique capabilities of Solex, here are
a few questions that the program can answer:
- When in the past was Mars closer to
Earth than it was at the opposition of August 27, 2003 ?
Answer: Sept.
12, -57616 (57617 BC); nearly 60,000 years ago ! More...
- Which will be the longest observable
occultation of a bright star by an asteroid in the next 30 years ?
Answer: 4
Sgr (m. 4.7) by Ceres on May 27, 2033 (Brazil, 81 secs). Occ. path ...
- What is the chance that asteroid 2000SG344
will impact Earth in september 2071 ? Answer: 0.25% (no much worry: it is
a small one - only about 50 m diameter) . More...
- On June, 8, 2004, a rare transit of
Venus took place. Can we get a list of Venus transits between 100,000
BC and AD 100,000 ? Answer: Sure!. Transits of: Venus, Mercury.
- Will the transits of Mercury and Venus ever take place simultaneously ? Answer: Yes But we should wait at least until AD 69163! More ...
- Was an occultation of Saturn by Jupiter ever
seen, or will it ever be seen from Earth ? Answer
A few screen shots:
1. The starting screen and 2. the "Text output" screen
3.
4.
3. The Pleiades and six asteroids in a field of 4°
4. The asteroid belt, projected onto a plane perpendicular
to the Equator
5. Apophis on 2029/4/13, seen from Rome 6. The Hildas and the Trojans, in a reference frame corotating with Jupiter
5.
6. 5. Track of the anciest recorded total solar eclipse at Ugarit 6. Occultation of alpha Leo (Regulus) by 163 Erigone on 03/20/2014
Predicted ground track with estimated uncertainties.
Download
the installation file for Solex 11.02 Light:
SETS110L.ZIP
(updated July
14, 2010)
Download
the English manual:
Solex110.doc
(updated June 25, 2010)
Download
the ExOrb manual:
ExOrb70.doc
(updated May 2010)
Scarica il manuale in Italiano:
SolexIta.doc (v. 10.2, aggiornato 28 Dicembre 2009)
Download the latest executable update:
SOLEX110.ZIP (v. 11.03,
upd. July 22, 2010); EXORB70.ZIP (v.
7.03, upd. July 14, 2010)
The very first DOS
version, with BASIC source code: SOLEX1.ZIP
Page latest update: July 30, 2010
Any comment,
inquiry or suggestion is appreciated: alvitagl@unina.it