Orbital Period
Under standard assumptions the orbital period of a body traveling along an elliptic orbit can be computed as:
where:
- is standard gravitational parameter,
- is length of semi-major axis.
Conclusions:
- The orbital period is equal to that for a circular orbit with the orbit radius equal to the semi-major axis ,
- For a given semi-major axis the orbital period does not depend on the eccentricity (See also: Kepler's third law).
Read more about this topic: Elliptic Orbit
Famous quotes containing the word period:
“In a period of a peoples life that bears the designation transitional, the task of a thinking individual, of a sincere citizen of his country, is to go forward, despite the dirt and difficulty of the path, to go forward without losing from view even for a moment those fundamental ideals on which the entire existence of the society to which he belongs is built.”
—Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (18181883)
Related Phrases
Related Words