VR Kepler orbit simulation: VR Astronomy simulation

For this project, we developed an educational Virtual Reality (VR) experience that will expose students to an immersive simulation of planetary motion. While there are many Solar System simulations available online, none of them focus on visualizing apparent retrograde motion in an educational setting. This VR experience is intended to fill that gap. The objective of this research project was to develop and implement an efficient and accurate simulation of Kepler orbits in VR for educational settings with a focus on the visualization of apparent retrograde motion. In particular, our main focus is on the ability to view the apparent retrograde motion of planets from the perspective of planets other than Earth. Our VR application is created using Unreal Engine 5, with code written in C++, and is designed to be used with the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first attempts in post-secondary education at creating an immersive experience for planetary motion in VR with a focus on apparent retrograde motion. Report submission was sponsored by Dr. Shahriar Khosravi, (Computing Science Department) for course CMPT 2367 and was presented at the New Westminster campus on April 12, 2023, for Student Research Days 2023.