Only earth orbits in a circular motion?

In summary: AU is defined as the mean distance between the Earth and Sun. The actual distance at any given time varies from a little less to a little more than 1 AU.
  • #1
vtas25
2
0
I was reading and came across an article which stated that all the planets orbitted the sun elliptically while the Earth was the only planet to orbit the sun in a circular motion...


Is this true?
Also what technology did we use to figure this out??

Thanks


Vtas25
 
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  • #2
vtas25 said:
I was reading and came across an article which stated that all the planets orbitted the sun elliptically while the Earth was the only planet to orbit the sun in a circular motion...


Is this true?
Also what technology did we use to figure this out??

Thanks


Vtas25

All the planets, including the Earth, orbit in ellipses. Neptune and Venus actually orbit closer to a circle than the Earth does.

As to technology, telescopes.
 
  • #3
No orbit, including the Earth's, is perfectly circular. The Earth's orbit is, in fact, an ellipse. The distance between the Earth and the Sun varies by about 5,000,000 km throughout the year.

The very concept of a "perfectly circular orbit" is flawed, since the circle is not a stable orbit. Stability implies self-correction: if you perturb a stable system, it naturally returns to the same stable state. A circular orbit is not stable, because any perturbation, even a passing comet, would irreversibly perturb the orbit into an ellipse.

- Warren
 
  • #4
In orbital dynamics, a circular orbit is generally considered stable if small perturbations cause its radial position to oscillate about the initial radius of the circular orbit. In the Keplerian case, this is the same as saying that the object enters an elliptical orbit. Unstable circular orbits, on the other hand, will exponentially deviate from their initial radius after being perturbed. This can occur, for example, near the event horizon of a black hole.
 
  • #5
Well, SpaceTiger, I was trying to make it easy to understand: if you start with a circle, any perturbation, no matter how small, leaves you with an ellipse (or other conic section, I suppose).

- Warren
 
  • #6
chroot said:
Well, SpaceTiger, I was trying to make it easy to understand: if you start with a circle, any perturbation, no matter how small, leaves you with an ellipse (or other conic section, I suppose).

I understand what you were trying to say and it's not wrong -- it's just an issue of terminology. The general circular configuration isn't so much unstable as it is "special". It occupies an infinitesimally small region of parameter space.
 
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  • #7
You can tell the orbit isn't circular by counting the days from Spring Equinox to Fall Equinox, versus the days from Fall Equinox to Spring Equinox. Earth is closest to the Sun right around the New Year.
 
  • #8
Earts orbit

selfAdjoint said:
You can tell the orbit isn't circular by counting the days from Spring Equinox to Fall Equinox, versus the days from Fall Equinox to Spring Equinox. Earth is closest to the Sun right around the New Year.


I read that Earth's orbit was significantly different from that of all the other planets..How true is this statement...




Vtas25
 
  • #9
vtas25 said:
I read that Earth's orbit was significantly different from that of all the other planets..How true is this statement...




Vtas25


Not true at all. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical, close enough to circular that you can't tell it's an ellipse unless you pay close attention. And that pretty much describes the orbits of the other (traditional) planets too. Some are a little more elliptical, others a little less, but there isn't any deep pattern, it bears all the earmarks of accidental initial conditions just randomly distribution a small varying eccentricity on the various planets. Oh, Jupiter and Saturn have a certain "tide locking", and the Earth and Moon show another, but that again is slight and historically contingent, not "deep".
 
  • #10
Earth has the least inclined orbit in the solar system. :wink:
 
  • #11
tony873004 said:
Earth has the least inclined orbit in the solar system. :wink:
Har har.

It's also suspicious that its distance from the Sun is exactly 1AU - no more, no less! :wink:
 
  • #12
DaveC426913 said:
Har har.

It's also suspicious that its distance from the Sun is exactly 1AU - no more, no less! :wink:

Well, this is actually not so... the AU is defined as the mean distance between the Earth and Sun. The actual distance at any given time varies from a little less to a little more than 1 AU.

- Warren
 
  • #13
chroot said:
...the AU is defined as the mean distance between the Earth and Sun. The actual distance at any given time varies from a little less to a little more than 1 AU.

- Warren
Well, this is actually not so... From http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?faq#B05
Why isn't AU the average Earth-Sun distance?
The astronomical unit (AU) may be defined as the distance from the Sun that a massless particle would require for a circular, Keplerian orbit with an exact period of 2*pi/0.01720209895.
 
  • #14
  • #15
I know, I was was poking fun at tony's "least inclined orbit" quip. (To be accurate, I should have said Earth's mean orbit is exactly 1AU.)

Earth's orbit is least inclined because Earth is the reference plane, thus by defintion its incline is 0.000 degrees.
 
  • #16
DaveC426913 said:
Earth's orbit is least inclined because Earth is the reference plane, thus by defintion its incline is 0.000 degrees.

I know, tony's quip was correct simply because an orbit only has one plane, so its inclination with respect to itself is always zero. Your re-quip, while funny, was just a bit misleading. I didn't mean to kill the humor. :biggrin: It's just my PF fact-checking trigger finger at work.

- Warren
 
  • #17
You're all terribly nerdy.

Carry on.
 
  • #18
DaveC426913 said:
Earth's orbit is least inclined because Earth is the reference plane, thus by defintion its incline is 0.000 degrees.
That's not quite right either.

On January 1, 2000 at 12:00, the inclination of the orbit of the Earth / Moon barycenter was 0.000. Taking it 1 more digit would have yielded some non-zero numbers, but I'm not sure why since the J2000 epoch defined the plane.

It's since drifted and is now 0.001. If you had only expressed it as 0.00 I'd have nothing to nitpick.:biggrin:

The Earth itself always has a little z-axis action going on as it gets tugged up and down by the Moon. That's why the barycenter is used.

Uh oh. I thing Space Tiger was right. :bugeye:
 
  • #19
SpaceTiger said:
You're all terribly nerdy.

Carry on.


"Terribly nerdy" is an oxymoron. Try magnificently nerdy or brilliantly nerdy instead.
 
  • #20
Okay, so the Earth doesn't generally orbit at its supposed orbital distance, nor does it generally orbit in its supposed orbital plane.

Argh. I guess we'll just have to list the Earth's ephemeris and say "that's the orbit." (Anyone know where I can find the Earth's ephermis?)

- Warren
 

1. Why does only earth orbit in a circular motion?

Earth orbits in a circular motion because it is constantly being pulled towards the sun by gravity. The combination of the sun's gravitational force and the earth's own inertia results in a circular orbit.

2. What makes an orbit circular?

An orbit is considered circular when the distance between the orbiting object and the object it is orbiting remains constant. This is achieved when the centripetal force is equal to the gravitational force between the two objects.

3. Are there any other planets that orbit in a circular motion?

Yes, all of the planets in our solar system orbit in a circular motion. However, their orbits are not perfectly circular but are slightly elliptical due to the influence of other planets and celestial bodies.

4. Can a planet's orbit change from circular to elliptical?

Yes, a planet's orbit can change from circular to elliptical if it is influenced by other celestial bodies, such as other planets or comets. This can cause the orbit to become more elongated or even change direction.

5. Is a circular orbit more stable than an elliptical orbit?

Yes, a circular orbit is more stable than an elliptical orbit because the gravitational force between the two objects remains constant, keeping the orbiting object in a consistent path. In an elliptical orbit, the distance between the two objects changes, resulting in a less stable orbit.

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