Orbital eccentricity

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/orbital-eccentricity

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the orbital classifications?e=0 (circle), 0<e<1 (ellipse), e=1 (parabola), e>1 (hyperbola)
2. What is the keplerian orbits?Are conic sections, described by their eccentricity
3. What does the symbol 'e' stand for in orbital eccentricity?The symbol 'e' shows how much an orbit differs from a perfect circle.
4. What happens when e is 0?When e = 0 the orbit is a perfect circle, so the distance between the two bodies stays the same.

Astrodynamics: The study of the motion of spacecraft and celestial bodies in space.
Conic Section: A curve formed by the intersection of a plane and a double cone, including circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas.
Periapsis: The point in an orbit where an orbiting body is closest to the body it orbits.
Apoapsis: The point in an orbit where an orbiting body is farthest from the body it orbits.