: Create equally spaced circles around a sphere object I'm attempting to create a similar graph to this one. Is there a specific way in illustrator to equally space the circles around a center

@Turnbaugh909

Another option is to use Effects to auto-generate the duplicate circles and let Illustrator factor the angle needed so you don't have to do any math.



(Right-Click/Control-Click the image and choose "Open image in new Tab" for a larger version)

This method will work with any object to create copies around a center focal point.

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@Voss6371140

First, create 2 circles. The 2 circles don't have to be center aligned as shown in my screen shot above.



While having the smaller circle selected, hit the Rotate tool. (R for shortcut). Now, hold on Option/Alt key, and click on the center of the bigger circle. This tells the anchor point the small circle should be rotating from. After you click on the center you will get the popup for the angle input. For the angle, you should input a number that's divisible by 360. For my example I used 30, so you get 12 smaller circles.

Turn on preview, and hit Copy.



Now hit CMD+D, or Control+D to redo the last step. Keep on doing this until you get all the circles.

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