Orbits Definition and 487 Threads

How would you plot the orbits of planets? I know how to calculate velocity and all the other aspects of an obit but I don’t know how to plot elliptical orbits. (This is not homework)

I've been doing some calculations but am obviously too dumb to work out something which should be straightforward (and no, this isn't homework) In a circular orbit, the acceleration is related to the tangential velocity and the radius via a=v^2/r In an elliptical orbit, both the velocity and...

Homework Statement It is required to put a satellite into an orbit with apogee of 5R/2, where R is the radius of the planet. The satellite is to be launched from the surface with a speed vo at 300 to the local vertical. If M is the mass of the planet show that v0=5GM/R (use conservation of...

I'm fairly new to astrophysics, but I'm genuienly interested on knowing how to calculate orbits. I've been trying to do so on my own but I just find myself extremely frustrated. :confused: I'm trying to figure out what orbital vectors are and how i can calculate them using known orbital...

I am writing an essay on Space travel for my A level coursework. I am writing about Hohmann transfer orbits. At the moment I am using the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit It explains how you can derive this: From this: I can't do the in...

Two satellites, A and B, both of mass m = 110 kg, move in the same circular orbit of radius r = 7.45 x 10^6 m around Earth but in opposite senses of rotation and therefore on a collision course. (a) What is the total mechanical energy EA + EB of the two satellites + Earth system before the...

Suppose you have a star of mass M and a planet of mass m orbiting around it. The orbit is circular. m<<<M. U of course is -GmM/r^2. E of course is going to be -U/2 and kinetic energy U/2 due to the virial theorem. What would happen if the mass of the star suddenly doubles? This is...

Homework Statement Suppose G is a finite group, which acts transitively on a set X and let H be a normal subgroup of G. Show that the size of the orbits of the action of H on X are of the same size. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I haven't been able to get very far...

I was just thinking about how this is done. I have looked online and I can't find a none mathematical explanation. If I am getting it right, we get the orbits by measuring the radial and tangential velocities of several stars relative to our sun. I thought the tangential velocity was...

Over in another forum I've got myself in trouble by suggesting that theoreticians haven't paid enough attention to this question. George Jones has kindlyhttps://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=2100856#post2100856" that the question seems to have been answered along the lines of...

Homework Statement #1 A satellite is in a circular orbit around an unknown planet/ The satellite has a speed of 1.70 x 104 m/s, and the radius of the orbit is 5.25 x 106 m. A second satellite also has a circular orbit around this same planet. The orbit of this second satellite has a radius...

I am doing a problem with calculating orbits. The orbit can be expressed in polar coordinates as r=p/(1-ecos(theta)) where r and theta are the distance and angle of the satellite from the center of the earth, p is a paremter where p=1200 km, and e is a parameter representing eccentricity. I'm...

why are the orbits elliptical in shape?i know that force equations give differential equations whose solutions imply that the orbits elliptical in shape.but what is the particular physical reason behind it?

To make my question clear, i'll talk about the hydrogen atom. The energy of the electron level is -13.6 eV / n^2. This means that the higher the orbit (n), the higher the energy. Still, I've always read that K-shell (n=1) electrons are strongest bound. Yet when an electron goes from a high...

Our solar system is often depicted, as it is on the poster on my wall, as the Sun and all of its satellites in coplanar orbits around it. I thought, however, that this "flat" representation was just a creative liberty taken to make is possible to put on a poster, but now I come to find out that...

Homework Statement A satellite orbits a planet at a distance of 6.80 multiplied by 10^8 m. Assume that this distance is between the centers of the planet and the satellite and that the mass of the planet is 3.08 multiplied by 10^24 kg. Find the period for the moon's motion around the earth...

Homework Statement A shuttle orbiting the Earth at 400km deploys a satellite of mass 800kg into orbit a further 200km from earth. Calculate the work that must be done by the shuttle to deploy the sattelite. Homework Equations E_{k} = \frac{GMm}{2r}, U = -\frac{GMm}{r} The Attempt at...

Homework Statement Estimate the total delta-V required to perform a Hohmann transfer between the Earth and Mars, ignoring the gravitational influences of the two planets. The planetary orbits may be assumed to be circular and in the same plane. Why will there be a minimum wait time at...

Homework Statement A particle moving in a plane is attracted towards a point (fixed) by a force zr^-5. The particle is projected from an apse at distance a with speed SQRT(z/(2a^4)). Show that the orbit is r=acos(theta) Using the Orbit Eq: d^2 u/dC^2 + u = za^-5/(hu)^2 h = angular...

Homework Statement http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/7206/wtffffftv0.th.jpg http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php Homework Equations Work is the dot product of force vector and displacement vector. Centripetal acceleration is velocity squared divided by radius -- multiply by mass to get force...

Is there any paper on the quantization of color? Maybe not since it’s obvious. I always thought that color was on a continuum. But now I realize that electrons jump between a limited set of orbits.

I was reading the faq and it said this quote: It turns out that the picture of electrons moving in circular orbits around the nucleus isn’t correct either(*). The solution here is the implementation of Quantum Mechanics via the Schrödinger Equation and the concept of wavefunction. By...

Homework Statement The Hubble Space Telescope orbits Earth 614 km above Earth's surface. What is the period of the telescope's orbit? Homework Equations T=(2*pi*radius)/v The Attempt at a Solution No attempt, Using that equation, I'd have to know the velocity, and that is where...

An electron and a proton are initially very far apart (effectively an infinite distance apart). They are then brought together to form a hydrogen atom, in which the electron orbits the proton at an average distance of 5.43 * 10-11 m. What is EPEfinal - EPEinitial, which is the change in the...

Hello all, I have gathered that the orbit of an electron cannot be calculated due to the uncertainty principal which states that position becomes uncertain when momentum is measured and vice versa. From this I understand that an orbit is not possible for an electron, hence the term...

Hello everyone, Why is it that in projectiles we learn that a mass launched horizontally will always fall towards gravity regardless of its horizontal velocity but in orbiting satellites this does not happen? Thanks!

I have a test Monday and I'm trying some review problems my professor gave us to study from. I'm not looking for answers I'm just looking for someone to help step me through a few of these problems. Thanks for any and all help you guys can provide. Homework Statement 3a). After starting...

Homework Statement Planets X & Y travel in circular orbits around the same star. The ratio of the radii of their orbits is 5:2. 5 years after the planets were aligned, planet x has rotated 92.6 degrees. how many degrees has y traveled in the same amount of time? Homework Equations...

Currently I am studying about mechanics of satellite orbits, however I cannot seem to understand in the regression of nodes, why the line of nodes would rotate in a direction contrary to that of the actual satellite orbit (irrespective if it is prograde or retrograde orbit) ? Ive tried...

Homework Statement A spy satellite is in circular orbit around Earth. It makes one revolution in 6.00 h. A. How high above Earth's surface is the satellite? B. What is the satellite's acceleration? Homework Equations I'm not sure but I believe we could possibly derive...

How do relativity explain elliptical orbits of planets?

How do scientists know that the Sun orbits the Milky Way? Is this something more ancient scientists knew or could have known hundreds of years ago?

In part, this thread is a tangential extension of an earlier thread entitled `Questions on Effective Potential`. However, this thread now moves the discussion in the direction of interpreting the results of the effective potential in terms of the circular orbital velocity, as derived from the...

Homework Statement IF we consider electrons in a crystal subject to a magnetic field. The electrons near the fermi energy wil obey open or closed orbits. Using semiclassical eqn of motion and band structure for a bravais lattice, discuss the behavour and derive all conserved quantities...

We know that the Earth's orbit is gradually becoming closer to the sun, inevitably reaching a stage where it will collide with our star. Why shouldn't the moon behave in the same manner? Why is the moon actually moving away from the pull of the Earth every year? I have come to think that it...

Given just the distances from the sun of two comets for example, and the speed of one of the objects, how could one relate these two objects in order to find the speed the other object is traveling at?

Just a thought; if indeed electrons transit around the nucleus, shouldn't we see relativistic doppler shifting as their orbits will have them either receding away or moving towards us? Thus, shouldn't elemental spectral lines really exist as 'spectral bars' of measurable bandwidth using high...

[SOLVED] Distance between 2 orbits of a black hole Homework Statement Hello. I am currently working on the black holes in the Schwarzschild metric, an exercise course asks me to calculate the physical distance between different orbits. d_{1} = distance betwenn 2M and 3M d_{2} = distance...

We know that orientations of electron orbit are discrete , what exactly do you mean by discreteness ,& also is there any particular shape of orbits like an ellipse ?

The values of theta that represent the angle b/w orbital quantum no. (l) & magnetic field direction can never by pi or 0 deg as then the magnetic quantum no . will have non integral values & and also the direction of orbital quantum no . & magnetic field will be parallel which means the electron...

Just a question about gravitation equations: Neglecting Earth's rotation, show that the energy needed to launch a satellite of mass m into circular orbit at altitude h is equal to: (\frac {GMm}{R})(\frac{R+2h}{2(R+h)}) Where R = the radius of the Earth and M = the mass of the Earth...

Just a question about gravitation equations: Neglecting Earth's rotation, show that the energy needed to launch a satellite of mass m into circular orbit at altitude h is equal to: (\frac {GMm}{R})(\frac{R+2h}{2(R+h)}) Where R = the radius of the Earth and M = the mass of the Earth...

I was "Jenab" who wrote the "Transfer Orbits for Dummies: A Hillbilly Tutorial" that was stickied in this forum. I've written an improved procedure. The main improvements are: 1. A more straightforward calculation of the true anomaly at the non-apsidal endpoint of the intended trajectory...

Why do the elliptical orbits of the planets in our solar system rotate on a single plane.

I am new to this forum so do not know all the rules of posting. So please don't mind if I have missed something. I have not been doing any physics and stuff for many many years, but have been having lots of curiosity about stuff, so will dare to ask it here. I understand that orbits are due...

Does anyone know the equation for the helical path length around a torus? I need an analytical expression, not an approximation. Thanks

Homework Statement A satellite orbits Earth 4.0 x 10^{7} m away. The force of gravity between the satellite and Earth is 228 N. What is the mass of the satellite? Homework Equations Fg = (Gm1m2)/(r^{2}) The Attempt at a Solution...

theoretically by GMm/r^2 = mv^2/r, planets in a particular distance to the star will move in the corresponding velocity in order to maintain a circular orbit... either over speed they will pass by the star, or under speed they will be attracted towards the star in a spiral way So why are...

Homework Statement A satelite is placed in orbit 6.00x10^5 meters above the surface of Jupiter which has a mass of 1.90x10^27kg and has a radius of 7.14x10^7m. Find the orbital speed of the satelite Homework Equations V=sqroot(GM/r) The Attempt at a Solution First i added the...

Homework Statement A particular comet has an elliptical orbit. When closest to the Sun (perihelion) it is at a distance of 8.823 x 10^10 m and moves with a speed of 54.6 km/s. The greatest distance between this comet and the Sun (aphelion) is 5.902 x 10^12 m. Calculate its speed at...