NASA Science. ASTR 1230, Whittle [Fall 2009]. Lecture Notes. Solar Nirvana / 6 November 2011. Ensign Software - ESPL: Dances of the Planets. The planets in the heavens move in exquisite orbital patterns, dancing to the Music of the Cosmos. There is more mathematical and geometric harmony than we realize. The idea for this article is from a book Larry Pesavento shared with me. The book, 'A Little Book of Coincidence' by John Martineau, illustrates the orbital patterns and several of their geometrical relationships. . Take the orbits of any two planets and draw a line between the two planet positions every few days. Earth: 8 years * 365.256 days/year = 2,922.05 days Venus: 13 years * 224.701 days/year = 2,921.11 days (ie. 99.9%) Watching the Earth-Venus dance for eight years creates this beautiful five-petal flower with the Sun at the center. (5 is another Fibonacci number.)
Another intriguing fact is the ratio between the Earth's outer orbit and Venus's inner orbit is given by a square. In the following dance patterns, the planet pairing is given and the number of orbits of the outer planet. Article by Howard Arrington. Chromoscope - View the Universe in different wavelengths. Welcome to Explorations in Science with Dr. Michio Kaku. Solar System Scope. Scale-of-universe-v1.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)