Orbit · Hill zone · Cleared neighborhood

Cleared neighborhoods

Every orbiting body sweeps a ring of space clear around its path — the band where nothing else can stably live. That ring is the no-fly zone, now drawn where it actually sits. A planet that has cleared its ring is, by definition, a planet. Drag the mass and watch the rings swell; when two touch, that pair can no longer coexist.

What the rings mean

Each shaded band is one orbit's Hill exclusion zone — a neighbor must stay outside it or be flung away. Heavier bodies clear wider rings.

system stable — all rings clear
Earth
MoonMarsEarthNeptuneJupiterbrown dwarf
click an orbit or a gap to hear its interval