Questions tagged [orbit]
Questions regarding an object 'falling around' another object, due to a combination of gravity and momentum.
650
questions
-3
votes
1answer
108 views
What is the distance between the Sun and Neptune? [closed]
I am not a scientist and i have a very basic knowledge of mathematics, physics, chemistry etc(elementary school).
1: What is the distance between the Sun and Neptune?
2: What is the maximum distance ...
6
votes
3answers
144 views
Is the barycenter of the solar system usually outside of the sun?
I came across this picture on wikipedia:
Note: From a quick search I gathered that although there are slight differences between the limb of the sun and the accepted radius of the sun, these ...
3
votes
1answer
101 views
Are we able to accurately predict planetary orbits over a longer period of time?
I was wondering whether planetary orbits can be predicted with our classical theories, or whether quantum randomness comes into play making the unpredictable in the long run?
3
votes
1answer
207 views
Is the 'spin' of Earth and the 'spin' of Mars a significant contribution to their angular momentum?
Is the 'spin' of Earth and the 'spin' of Mars taken into account as a contribution to the conservation of angular momentum? (and a contribution to the increasing/decreasing eccentricity?) Or - is the ...
0
votes
1answer
85 views
When will Mercury have rotated an extra round around its axis?
It is well known that Mercury orbits slightly differently from a pure Newtonian orbit. Every year a slight deviation is found.
Now if we observe a lot of these orbits then Mercury should at one point ...
7
votes
1answer
266 views
Degrees of freedom in restricted circular coplanar three body problem
How many degrees of freedom does a mechanical system consisting of three bodies, the Sun, Jupiter and an asteroid, have in the restricted circular coplanar problem of the three bodies?
I know that if ...
1
vote
0answers
69 views
Orbital resonance 2:1
I considered the motion of an asteroid around the sun, in a $2:1$ orbital resonance with Jupiter. Following the study of this resonance, it was observed that the angle between the major axis of the ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Can someone explain to me the TEME reference frame in defining orbital coordinates?
I am undertaking a project of developing a "surface station" for my desktop, which will track the position of different satellites as they fly overhead. I have zero background in ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
Can we see the south Pole of the Moon standing on North Pole of the Earth
As the Moon's orbit is inclined to Earth's Equator and radius of earth is only 6350Km but Moon is 385000Km away, we should be able to see the south pole of the Moon from below- i.e standing on North ...
-1
votes
2answers
99 views
Why collisions between earth orbiting satelites do occur?
According to Kepler laws all earth orbiting satellites should have the same velocity. So how can they collide?
0
votes
0answers
36 views
2-body orbits expanding in nbody simulation?
Recently, I designed an n-body engine and tested it with a binary star system. After a minute of running, the orbit began noticeably expanding:
Why is it happening, and is this natural? The source ...
1
vote
0answers
55 views
Calculating Angle Between Two Planets In Heliocentric Orbit
My goal is to calculate the retrograde of Mercury. What I've been working from is the book, Practical Astronomy With Your Calculator 3rd edition. I've made some progress, but I seem to be stuck with ...
0
votes
0answers
59 views
Wrong planet orbit
I would like to calculate Mercury's orbit in Mathematica. My initial conditions, in AU and AU/year, are:
...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the difference between the two terms named “Eccentricity” and “Ellipticity”?
I don't get the difference between the two terms named "Eccentricity" and "Ellipticity", especially, in astronomy. I understand eccentricity as a measure of the curvature of a ...
2
votes
0answers
79 views
Planets orbit fitting
I would like to fit planets orbits. To do this, I need a set of mock observations. I can get them from right ascension/declination obtained from the Horizons interface:
EDIT:
Horizons gives me a list ...
4
votes
1answer
88 views
Where can I find a list of retrograde Milky Way stars?
I read in papers that the Milky Way contains some retrograde stars (retrograde to the Milky Way rotation). Does anybody know where I can find a list of them, possibly including data on their distance ...
3
votes
1answer
52 views
What is the longitude of the winter solstice for the various planets?
I am looking for data showing the longitude at which the various planets in the solar system reach their winter solstice. Where could I find this data?
1
vote
0answers
30 views
What is the period of the 'cycle' of Earth's ecliptic variation, relative to the 'invariable plane'? 70,000 or 100,000 years?
The plane of Earth's path around the Sun, the ecliptic, is different from the average of the solar system's as a whole (the invariable plane) by about 1.57°....
Our path around the Sun, though, goes ...
5
votes
2answers
131 views
Estimating close approach between all asteroids themselves
I am currently writing a C++ program to show asteroids in 3D, and find close approaches or collisions. I got my orbital elements from JPL https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb_query.cgi. So far so good, with ...
18
votes
2answers
2k views
Is S2 still the fastest known star in the galaxy?
Wikipedia's entry for the star S2 says that it has
the fastest known ballistic orbit, reaching speeds exceeding 5,000
km/s (11,000,000 mph, or 1⁄60 the speed of light) and acceleration of
about 1.5 ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Orbit of Luhman 16?
I am studying some binary stars and brown dwarfs. Some orbits are known and easy to find, like Alpha Centauri. However, when I look for the orbital characteristics of Luhman 16 (AB), I only get the ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the longest natural bound orbit chain observed?
Define a bound orbit chain as a list of successively less massive bodies, each in a bound orbit with the bodies preceding it in the list.
Then an example of a bound orbit chain would be: <Sun, ...
7
votes
1answer
415 views
How to find the shape of an orbit
What is the minimum information I need to be able to draw the shape of an orbit of a body that orbits the sun? With this information how can I figure out the shape of its orbit?
2
votes
1answer
42 views
How can I find the width of an orbit knowing some values?
I need to find the width/x-radius of an orbit, which is ellipse shaped, knowing variables like the orbit's length(perihelion + aphelion in this case) and the eccentricity. I am not sure if this is ...
4
votes
3answers
717 views
Computing the rate of orbital decay
We know that the estimated time until a binary system merges is given by: $$\dfrac{5c^5r^4}{256G^3(m_1m_2)(m_1+m_2)}$$ But what is the formula to determine rate of decay, in some sort of distance unit,...
5
votes
2answers
225 views
What is the thickness of the Solar System disk?
What is the thickness in AU of the all planets' orbital plane height combined in the Solar System?
Excluding Pluto.
Looking for h
2
votes
1answer
62 views
Prograde to retrograde orbital path
Is there a planet or planetary moon flyby path that could send a solar prograde orbiting asteroid into a retrograde solar orbit?
-4
votes
2answers
72 views
What makes a star? [closed]
What are the properties of a star? How do astronomers classify the properties of stars?
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Do moons experience periods of no sunlight when orbiting “behind” their planet?
I'm writing a story that takes place on the Saturn moon Iapetusand I was thinking that especially since Iapetus only has an inclination of about 17 degrees from the ecliptic, wouldn't there be a point ...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
Visual binary star with circular apparent orbit
Does anyone know a good example of visual (or interferometric) binary star apparent orbit of which looks circular due to projection though in fact is markedly elliptical? I need that for teaching.
5
votes
1answer
93 views
Fate of a planet orbiting a Lagrange point behind a star?
Let's say there is a planet orbiting at L5 behind a star, which is in turn orbiting a more massive star, like so:
What is the ultimate fate of this planet? I'm predicting that it will spiral into the ...
17
votes
6answers
6k views
If the Sun disappeared, could some planets form a new orbital system?
If the sun were to suddenly disappear, the planets would continue to travel tangentially to their former orbits. (This I know from this answer to a somewhat related question here.)
In such a scenario, ...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
How long before Phobos reaches the Roche limit of Mars?
Phobos orbits really close to Mars, so close that one Phobos period is shorter than one sol. Due to tidal friction, it is also getting closer and closer to Mars. How much time will it take before ...
2
votes
1answer
139 views
Scholarly work on the gravitational disruption of a rocky planet by a close pass with another planet?
note: While the apparently abandoned question Effects of a rogue planet passing between the Earth and the Moon? (inspired by Thundarr the Barbarian) asks for speculation and was answered with it, this ...
3
votes
2answers
131 views
What are the Time Zones on Mercury?
I normally post on worldbuilding, but this question is merely about facts of a planets orbit and spin. I am trying to figure out how time periods work on Mercury to possibly make a worldbuilding guide ...
1
vote
0answers
78 views
Do the orbits of planets change? Where is the data for this?
Everything in the space is moving all the time.
Do the orbit of major Solar Systems planets, Mercury to Saturn change? Just like Moon's orbit around Earth changes.
How often, how small or big is the ...
9
votes
1answer
126 views
How can orbital resonance sometimes have a stabilising effect, whilst other times, it has a destabilising effect?
I have just started learning about orbital resonance. I understand how bodies in orbital resonance will line up according to the orbital ratio number, and there will be increased gravitational effects ...
2
votes
0answers
31 views
Classical Mechanics : Interaction Sun Radiation Pressure - Gravitation
I have a theoretical problem that merges the effects of a gravitational field and the Sun radiation pressure. The problem goes as follows:
A spacecraft orbits the Sun in absence of any other body ...
1
vote
0answers
28 views
Sun's and planets' inclination to the Invariable plane
What are the inclinations of all major Solar system planets (Mercury to Pluto) to the invariable plane? Looking for accurate data calculated on them.
Also, What is the inclination of the Sun to the ...
2
votes
0answers
69 views
Moon's and nodes' inclination to the Invariable plane
Moon is inclined to the ecliptic 5.14 degrees. Earth's inclination to the invariable plane is 1.57869 degrees.
What is the Moon's, and node's inclination to the invariable plane?
Since the Moon has an ...
28
votes
6answers
9k views
The moon has just the right speed not to crash on the Earth or escape into space. What are the odds?
My understanding is that the moon was created a long time ago when Earth was hit by a big asteroid.
The debris then agglomerated into the Moon, which happens to be orbiting at the exact speed required ...
4
votes
2answers
949 views
Calculating the Angular Momentum of a planet
I want to calculate the Angular Momentum of any planet at any point on the orbit around the Sun.
Example: I want to calculate the Angular Momentum of Pluto today, on Jan 27, 2021 00:00:00 Hrs
Where ...
4
votes
1answer
112 views
Any known Triple Star Systems with this hierarchy?
I'm curious, are there any known STABLE triple systems in which a close inner binary pair is orbited by a more massive star, yet the total mass of the binary pair is greater than that single orbiting ...
0
votes
0answers
51 views
Why can't ESA/NASA build a handful of Gaia telescopes and launch them into different positions in space for better accuracy?
I've noticed that many stars in GAIA DR2 have highly uncertain distances. Why can't a space agency send multiple Gaia spacecraft into orbit around different places (One in L2 Earth, one in ...
5
votes
1answer
276 views
If two stars collide, what is the probability that they merge to form a single star?
After looking at What are the odds that the Sun hits another star? and answering it (crudely), now I'd like to ask the following:
What is the probability that if two stars collide, their cores merge ...
28
votes
3answers
3k views
What are the odds that the Sun hits another star?
The Sun moves around the Milky Way disk in the same direction as most of the other stars in our galaxy (prograde). But there are a number of older stars in the galactic halo that move in retrograde ...
5
votes
1answer
56 views
Does a star's rotation always match a planet's orbit?
For a planet orbiting a star, is it ever possible for a star to be rotating in the opposite way on it's own axis compared to the planet that is orbiting the star?
Or do gravitational forces mean the ...
14
votes
2answers
1k views
Has the Earth's wobble around the Earth-Moon barycenter ever been observed by a spacecraft?
Pluto's motion around the Pluto-Charon barycenter has been imaged by the New Horizons spacecraft:
Has anything like this been imaged of Earth? Yes, the barycenter lies inside of Earth, but it is 3/...
3
votes
3answers
126 views
If an orbit is shifting due to orbital precession, is it still a Keplerian orbit?
I was thinking about orbits a few days ago, and realized that orbits shift/precess naturally. Given that a two-body problem with a star and a planet, if the planet has an eccentric orbit that ...
5
votes
3answers
165 views
Kepler's Law, focal points - Heliocentric or Barycentric?
It is known that all the mass in the Solar system moves around the Barycenter.
For the two focal points in Kepler's law; is the first focal point $F_1$ a Heliocenter? Or is it actually a Barycenter?
...
