Is Epicyclic an Accurate Term for the Moon's Orbit Around the Sun?

[Minki]

Hi, A quick clarification question. Is epicyclic a correct description for our moons path around the sun. I can only find references to epicycles in a historical context.

Thanks.

 

[tiny-tim]

Hi Minki!

I can only find references to epicycles in a historical context.

Epicycles are an approximation … the number of cycles gives you the order of the approximation.

The only actual epicylces I know of are what are usually called planetary gears, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicyclic_gearing

 

[Simon Bridge]

Focus on what it means for an orbit to be epicyclic and you can answer the question yourself.

example of a modern use.

But perhaps you are thinking that, maybe, the Moon's orbit (in, say, the reference frame of the Earth-Moon center-of-mass) traces out some sort of complicated scribble rather than a simple ellipse?

 

[Minki]

Ok, thanks for that guys.