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The ModelMoon & Planets

Moon & Planets

The Holistic Universe Model extends beyond Earth to include the Moon and all major planets. Their orbital periods and precession cycles all align with the 333,888-year Holistic-Year.


Moon Movements

The Moon exhibits two primary precession cycles:

Precession TypeAgainst ICRFExperienced on Earth
Nodal Precession~18.59997 years~18.61345 years
Apsidal Precession~8.85058 years~8.84752 years

Lunar Standstill

The Moon’s nodal precession causes the phenomenon known as Lunar Standstill - when the Moon reaches its extreme northern or southern declination relative to Earth’s equator.

Graph showing Moon's declination variation demonstrating the Lunar Standstill pattern with 18.6-year nodal precession cycle

The Royer Cycle

To correctly model all Moon movements in the 3D simulation, an additional cycle was needed: the Royer cycle with a duration of ~16.88 years. This cycle describes a lunar beat frequency that isn’t captured by nodal or apsidal precession alone. Without this third component, the Moon’s 3D position cannot be accurately reproduced.

The ~16.9-year Royer cycle has been independently identified in climate research as a lunar tidal beat frequency. It appears in the SOIM (Sidereal Orbital Invariant Model)  alongside other lunar cycles including:

CycleDurationDescription
Apsidal precession~8.85 yearsLunar perigee rotation
Royer cycle~16.88 yearsLunar beat frequency
Nodal precession~18.6 yearsLunar node rotation (draconic)

Derivation of the Royer cycle: The ~16.88 year period is a beat frequency arising from the interaction of two main lunar cycles:

1/T_royer = 1/T_apsidal - 1/T_nodal 1/16.88 = 1/8.85 - 1/18.6

This is the “meeting frequency” when the apsidal and nodal cycles, moving at different rates, come back into phase alignment. The Royer cycle is therefore derived from, not independent of, the standard lunar cycles.

All Moon cycle durations come together in the Holistic-Year of 333,888 years.


Eclipse Cycles

The 3D simulation includes eclipse visualization using Three.js lighting and shadow functions. While not 100% aligned, the model captures eclipses with reasonable accuracy.

Recent Eclipse Examples

EventOfficial TimeModel PredictionAccuracy
2025 Sep 7 Lunar Eclipse15:30-21:00 UTC15:00-22:00 UTCGood
2025 Sep 21 Solar Eclipse~19:45 UTC max~01:00 UTC (Sep 22)~5 hours off
2025 Mar 29 Solar Eclipse~11:00 UTC max~10:00 UTCExcellent

The eclipse timing variations are simulation implementation limitations, not model limitations. Earth’s orbit is currently modeled as circular rather than elliptical, and smaller lunar perturbations are not included. With community refinement, these could be improved to match every eclipse precisely.

Screenshot from 3D simulation showing lunar eclipse of September 7, 2025

Planetary Movements

All planets are configured in the 3D simulation with their perihelion precession fully modeled according to Kepler’s Third Law.

Simulation Limitations

The current simulation has two simplifications:

  1. Constant speeds: Kepler’s second law (variable orbital speeds) is not implemented
  2. Circular orbits: Most orbits use circles rather than ellipses (though two circles create effectively elliptical paths)

Despite these simplifications, the model matches observational data for transits, oppositions, and conjunctions.


Planetary Perihelion Data

All perihelion calculations are grounded in data from NASA and WebGeocalc.

Data Sources: For the complete list of transit catalogues, opposition dates, and conjunction data used to validate planetary positions, see the Appendix: Planetary Events & Catalogues.

Mercury

Mercury’s model is fully aligned with NASA transit data.

Orbital diagram of Mercury aligned with NASA transit data

Perihelion precession: ~575 arcseconds/century observed

WebGeocalc data for Mercury perihelion precession

For details on Mercury’s “missing” perihelion precession, see Mercury Precession.

Venus

Venus is fully aligned with NASA transit data.

Orbital diagram of Venus

Perihelion precession: ~400 arcseconds/century

WebGeocalc data for Venus perihelion precession

Mars

Mars is aligned with opposition data.

Orbital diagram of Mars showing opposition alignment

Perihelion precession: ~1600 arcseconds/century

WebGeocalc data for Mars perihelion precession

Jupiter

Orbital diagram of Jupiter

Perihelion precession: ~1800 arcseconds/century (varies over longer periods)

WebGeocalc data for Jupiter perihelion precession

Saturn

Orbital diagram of Saturn

Perihelion precession: ~-3400 arcseconds/century (retrograde, varies over time)

WebGeocalc data for Saturn perihelion precession

Uranus

Orbital diagram of Uranus

Perihelion precession: ~1100 arcseconds/century

WebGeocalc data for Uranus perihelion precession

Neptune

Orbital diagram of Neptune

Perihelion precession: ~200 arcseconds/century

WebGeocalc data for Neptune perihelion precession

How Planetary Calculations Work

All calculations in the 3D simulation follow three principles:

  1. Grounded in scientific data: Ascending/descending nodes, eccentricity values, etc. from official sources
  2. Transparent perihelion locations: Positions are calculated directly, not layered approximations
  3. Kepler’s Third Law: Orbital elements follow the period-distance relationship

Example: Jupiter Calculation Structure

barycenterEarthAndSun.pivotObj.add(jupiterPerihelionDurationEcliptic1.containerObj); jupiterPerihelionDurationEcliptic1.pivotObj.add(jupiterPerihelionFromEarth.containerObj); jupiterPerihelionFromEarth.pivotObj.add(jupiterPerihelionDurationEcliptic2.containerObj); jupiterPerihelionDurationEcliptic2.pivotObj.add(jupiterRealPerihelionAtSun.containerObj); jupiterRealPerihelionAtSun.pivotObj.add(jupiter.containerObj);

The calculation chain:

  1. Start at PERIHELION-OF-EARTH (barycenterEarthAndSun)
  2. Add planet’s perihelion precession speed
  3. Set perihelion location
  4. Add counter-movement correction
  5. Move to Sun-centered reference
  6. Apply orbital elements and nodes

Summary

  1. Moon’s nodal precession: 18.6 years (causes Lunar Standstill)
  2. Moon’s apsidal precession: 8.85 years
  3. All Moon cycles align with the 333,888-year Holistic-Year
  4. Eclipse visualization is included in the 3D simulation
  5. Planetary perihelions form a spiral pattern when viewed from Earth
  6. All planet orbits follow Kepler’s Third Law with data from NASA/WebGeocalc
  7. The model matches transit, opposition, and conjunction observations

Explore in the 3D Simulation: All planetary and lunar data can be verified in the Interactive 3D Solar System Simulation . The Excel documentation includes detailed tabs for each planet’s orbital parameters.


Continue to Mercury Precession for a detailed analysis of the “missing” perihelion precession of Mercury.

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