Choose Your Own Adventure #4 (Day 3)
Intro to this Adventure
PRE-ACTIVITY: Make sure you have gone through the code for Adventure #1.
In Adventure #4 you will playing with the python N-body code Rebound.
First install with pip: do "pip install rebound" in the command line. Then you should be able to do "import rebound" in your python script/ipython shell to import this package. See this website for more info about installing and testing rebound.
What can I calculate? Check out the examples on the github repo for Rebound, especially the iPython examples and the Python examples. Specifically, the Horizons Solar System Example and the Orbits Plotting Example.
Some things you might want to play with: What do all the different integrators do? Play with the code and read the docs about each integrator. Will some integrators be better for different sorts of systems?
Can you plot Kepler data using this package?
HINT: If you want to see how to read in & format the Kepler data, you might want to check out how to read in the data from Adventure #2.
Rebound Resources
Rebound Documentation
How to install, run Rebound.
Rebound GitHub Repo For Examples of Code
Zomygod so many examples. Checkout the Python/iPython examples.
Other Resources
Super Planet Crash!
Can you make a stable system?
Bonus: Orbits Game
Can you please your alien overlords by building them awesome planetary systems?
Kepler Confirmed Planets Table
If you want to grab other Kepler data and play with your own system, check out this table! Note: you will probably have to click on the "default reference" column (which you can display in the "Select Columns" header) in order to get the "time of first transit" if you want to use it in your code and the parameter if it is not listed.
Neat Interactive Tables for Kepler
Also, check out the "Plots" tab here if you in general want to plot Kepler data as stuff vs. other stuff.