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According to Kepler's first law a planet's orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus. An ellipse is a closely defined mathematical shape, while eggs have a more varied shape that cannot be defined closely.
The amount of elongation of an ellipse is measured by the eccentricity, which measures how far each focus is from the centre.
The planets have orbits with low eccentricity which means that the orbits are very nearly circular.
The Earth's orbit has a semimajor axis of a=149.6 million km and and eccentricity of e=1/60. The Sun is off-centre by a distance equal to ae which is 2.5 million km, so the distance varies from 147.1 in January to 152.1 million km in July, at the opposite ends of the major axis. The semiminor axis is only 0.014% smaller, so the amount of elongation is extremely small.
This explains why it took so long to discover that the orbits are elliptical, because the old circle/epicycle theory produced very good results until observations became accurate enough to see problems with it, which happened when Tycho Brahe came up with measurement techniques that were more accurate than ever before. That was at the end of the 16th century.
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What is the orbital shape of Pluto?
The orbital shape of Pluto is an ellipse. Its orbit is not a perfect circle but slightly elongated, which is typical for most objects in the solar system. Pluto's orbit is also inclined to the plane of the rest of the planets' orbits, making it more elliptical.
What words describe the shape of a planets orbit?
The shape of a planet's orbit is described as elliptical, which means it is oval-shaped, with the sun located at one of the two foci of the ellipse. The degree of deviation from a perfect circle is quantified by the orbital eccentricity, which can range from 0 (a perfect circle) to values approaching 1 (more elongated). Additionally, orbits can be classified as circular, parabolic, or hyperbolic, depending on their specific characteristics.
What path do asteroids take?
== == An ellipse. Like planets.
What is the shape of the planets orbits discovered by keplar?
Kepler discovered that the planets orbit the Sun in elliptical shapes. This means that their orbits are not perfect circles, but instead are stretched out ovals with the Sun located at one of the foci of the ellipse.
What is the term for the egg-shaped orbit that planets follow?
The egg-shaped orbit that a planet follows is called an ellipse, and planets are thus said to have elliptical orbits.
What is the orbital shape of Pluto?
The orbital shape of Pluto is an ellipse. Its orbit is not a perfect circle but slightly elongated, which is typical for most objects in the solar system. Pluto's orbit is also inclined to the plane of the rest of the planets' orbits, making it more elliptical.
Who stated that planets revolve around the sun in an ellipse?
Johannes Kepler stated that the planets revolve around the sun in an ellipse.
What are the member of the solar system thst follow or move to its orbit?
All massive objects in the solar system feel the gravitational influence of their primary and most follow an orbital path around it - the majority of the mass orbiting the Sun, including planets, asteroids, comets, etc. A common orbital path, such as the planets follow, is shaped like an ellipse with the Sun at the ellipse's focus. Moons which orbit planets follow a smaller orbital path around their primary (for example, the Earth's Moon follows a path around Earth which it completes in about a month). If objects felt mutual gravitational pull of another object but did not have sufficient relative orbital momentum, they would collide.
What words describe the shape of a planets orbit?
The shape of a planet's orbit is described as elliptical, which means it is oval-shaped, with the sun located at one of the two foci of the ellipse. The degree of deviation from a perfect circle is quantified by the orbital eccentricity, which can range from 0 (a perfect circle) to values approaching 1 (more elongated). Additionally, orbits can be classified as circular, parabolic, or hyperbolic, depending on their specific characteristics.
Term used for the shape of the planets orbit?
Ellipse.
What is the shape of the orbit of planets around the sun?
An ellipse.
What path do asteroids take?
== == An ellipse. Like planets.
What is the shape of a planetary path?
Planets orbit in an ellipse.
What is the shape of the planets orbiting around the sun?
An ellipse.
What is the shape of the planets orbits discovered by keplar?
Kepler discovered that the planets orbit the Sun in elliptical shapes. This means that their orbits are not perfect circles, but instead are stretched out ovals with the Sun located at one of the foci of the ellipse.
Outer planets have smaller orbital periods than inner planets?
They are farther away and have larger orbital periods.
What type of orbit did Kepler say planets moved around the Sun in?
Kepler described the orbits of planets around the Sun as an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci.
