Orbit

Article

An orbit is the curved path followed by an object under the influence of gravity or another central force. Planets orbit stars, moons orbit planets, and artificial satellites orbit Earth and other bodies.

In the ideal two-body problem, gravitational orbits are conic sections: circles, ellipses, parabolas, or hyperbolas. Bound objects follow circular or elliptical paths, while parabolic and hyperbolic trajectories allow escape.

Real orbits are perturbed by additional bodies, non-spherical gravity, atmospheric drag, radiation pressure, tides, and relativistic effects. Their size, shape, orientation, and position are described using orbital elements.

Orbital motion produces many natural cycles, including days, months, years, eclipses, conjunctions, resonances, and precessions. Celestial mechanics uses observations and mathematical models to predict these motions.

Source details and credits

• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit