This animation shows elliptical orbits with different eccentricities. It also shows how the Sun is at the focus of an ellipse, and some of the math behind elliptical orbits.
Click on image for full size
Original animation by Windows to the Universe staff (Randy Russell).

Elliptical Orbits

You may think that most objects in space that orbit something else move in circles, but that isn't the case. Although some objects follow circular orbits, most orbits are shaped more like "stretched out" circles or ovals. Mathematicians and astronomers call this oval shape an ellipse. All of the planets in our Solar System, many satellites, and most moons move along elliptical orbits.

An ellipse can be very long and thin, or it can be quite round - almost like a circle. Scientists use a special term, "eccentricity", to describe how round or how "stretched out" an ellipse is. If the eccentricity of an ellipse is close to one (like 0.8 or 0.9), the ellipse is long and skinny. If the eccentricity is close to zero, the ellipse is more like a circle.

Earth moves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. Earth's orbit is almost a perfect circle; its eccentricity is only 0.0167! Pluto has the least circular orbit of any of the planets in our Solar System. Pluto's orbit has an eccentricity of 0.2488.

The Sun isn't quite at the center of a planet's elliptical orbit. An ellipse has a point a little bit away from the center called the "focus". The Sun is at the focus of the ellipse. Because the Sun is at the focus, not the center, of the ellipse, the planet moves closer to and further away from the Sun every orbit. The close point in each orbit is called perihelion. The far away point is called aphelion.

Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer who lived in the early 17th century, discovered some important laws about orbits. Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion states that planets move in elliptical orbits. His Second Law explains how planets move faster when they are close to the Sun (near perihelion) than when they are far away (near aphelion).

If you want to know more about the mathematics of ellipses, take a look at the advanced version of this page.

Last modified December 16, 2005 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Eccentricity of an Orbit

You may think that most objects in space that orbit something else move in circles, but that isn't the case. Although some objects follow circular orbits, most orbits are shaped more like "stretched...more

Pluto

Pluto is a frigid ball of ice and rock that orbits far from the Sun on the frozen fringes of our Solar System. Considered a planet, though a rather odd one, from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, it was...more

Kepler's 2nd Law: The Speeds of Planets

Kepler's second law he again discovered by trial and error. Kepler realized that the line connecting the planet and the Sun sweeps out equal area in equal time. Look at the diagram to the left. What Kepler...more

The Solar System

The solar system is made up of the Sun, the // Call the planets count function defined in the document head print_planet_count('planets'); planets and // Call the planets count function defined in the...more

Mechanics

Mechanics is the term used to refer to one of the main branches of the science of physics. Mechanics deals with the motion of and the forces that act upon physical objects. We need precise terminology...more

Eris - a dwarf planet

Eris is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Eris was one of the first three objects classified as a dwarf planet, along with Pluto and Ceres. Eris was first spotted in January 2005. Eris is a large sphere...more

Orionid Meteor Shower

The Orionid meteor shower happens every year in October. Meteor showers are times when you can see many meteors or "shooting stars" in one night. There are several meteor showers each year. Most meteor...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA