Moon (2024)
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Interactive essay on the Moon's motion uses gravity simulations to teach orbital mechanics.
Ciechanowski's interactive page lets readers drag 3D models to explore the Moon's phases, libration, and path across Earth's sky. It introduces a two-body gravity simulator to demonstrate how barycenters, elliptical orbits, and conservation of angular momentum govern celestial motion. The article explains how mass and distance affect gravitational force, and how the Moon's far side remains hidden. Special points like apoapsis and periapsis are defined with interactive sliders for eccentricity and semi-major axis.
What commenters are saying
Several commenters praised the interactive style as a benchmark for educational web content, with one calling it "the future of the web." Others discussed using "in the style of Ciechanowski" prompts with LLMs for personal learning, debating whether this constitutes plagiarism; consensus was that stylistic imitation for private use is acceptable with credit. A top comment noted the site's Patreon income (~$5k/month from 520 patrons) given its infrequent updates. One user humorously proposed a "flat Moon" conspiracy theory, and another clarified that "panning" is rotation, not translation.