answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

The planets, and the satellites that orbit around them, are affected by gravity from the sun and other celestial objects. The effects of gravity at different locations during their orbits prevent their orbits from being circular, and they become elliptical (more or less egg-shapped).

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why are planets that orbit around the Sun and satellites that orbit around these planets always called ellipses rather than perfect circles?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What date did Johannes Kepler discover ellipses?

Kepler did not discover ellipses. In 1605 he discovered that the orbits of the planets were ellipses rather than perfect circles.


What scientist first stated that the paths of planets are ellipses instead of circles.?

Johannes Kepler


Who replaced circles with ellipses in a helicentric model of the universe?

Johannes Kepler replaced circles with ellipses in the heliocentric model of the universe.


What is the difference between Copernicus and Kepler description of planetary orbits?

Kepler realised the planets orbits are not circles; they are ellipses.


Do planets move in elliptical orbits?

The planets move intheir ellipticalorbits becauseof the gravitation of the Sun combined withthe inertial velocity of the planets(tangentialto their orbital paths). Mathematics shows the resulting orbits must be ellipses. (Some of the ellipses are in factalmost circles.)


How did Kepler improve Copernicus theory?

He discovered that planets move in ellipses not circles and that the sun stays in it's own place.


Who worked out that the planets orbits are flattened circles?

Johannes Kepler, using measured planetary positional data provided by Tycho Brahe, showed that the orbits of the planets were ellipses ("flattened circles"), with the Sun at one focus of the eliipse.


Which force is responsible for making planets and satellites travel in near circular orbits?

Gravity and inertia. Inertia keeps the planets moving while the gravity of the sun keeps the planets drawn to orbit in ellipses.


Why the solar system revolves as centripetal force but they looks like oval shape?

The planets orbit the Sun in near-perfect circles, but they are actually ellipses. This is because that although the Sun contains much more mass than the planets in our solar system, the planets pull the Sun slightly, which by definition creates an elliptical orbit.


What are ellipses?

Ellipses are a scientific word for the shape of an oval. for example the planets orbits are ellipses.


What of the planets are ellipses?

their orbits


The greatest inaccuracy in Copernicus' model of the solar system was that the planets?

Traveled in perfect circles.