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nukeman
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Of course Earth's orbit is not circular, but Is Earth’s orbit far from circular?
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Earth's orbit is an ellipse, which is a stretched out circle. It is not a perfect circle, so it is not completely circular.
Earth's orbit is only slightly elliptical, so it is very close to being circular. The eccentricity, or measure of how far from a perfect circle an ellipse is, is about 0.0167. A perfect circle has an eccentricity of 0.
Earth's orbit is influenced by the gravitational pull of other objects in the solar system, such as other planets and the sun. These forces cause Earth's orbit to slightly deviate from being perfectly circular.
Yes, the shape of Earth's orbit does play a role in our seasons. The tilt of Earth's axis is the main factor in determining the seasons, but the slightly elliptical orbit also contributes. When Earth is closer to the sun in its orbit, it experiences summer in the northern hemisphere, and when it is farther away, it experiences winter.
Earth's orbit is constantly changing due to the gravitational pull of other objects in the solar system. However, on a larger scale, it is relatively stable and is not significantly changing in shape. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit has remained relatively constant over the past few million years.