An elliptical orbit is the path that an object takes around another object in space, such as a planet orbiting a star. It is characterized by its elongated shape, with the object moving closer and then farther away from the central object in a repeating pattern.
To plot an elliptical orbit, you will need to know the mass of the central object, the distance between the two objects, and the velocity of the orbiting object. Using these values, you can use Kepler's laws of planetary motion to calculate the shape and size of the orbit.
The eccentricity of an elliptical orbit is a measure of how elongated the orbit is. A value of 0 represents a perfectly circular orbit, while a value of 1 represents a parabolic orbit. The closer the eccentricity is to 0, the more circular the orbit is, and the closer it is to 1, the more elongated it is.
The period of an elliptical orbit is the time it takes for the object to complete one full revolution around the central object. It can be calculated using the formula T = 2π√(a³/GM), where a is the semi-major axis of the orbit, G is the gravitational constant, and M is the mass of the central object.
Yes, an object can have a perfectly circular orbit if its eccentricity is 0. This means that the object will maintain a constant distance from the central object as it orbits around it. However, in reality, most orbits have at least a small amount of eccentricity.