In celestial mechanics, the true anomaly is an angular parameter that defines the position of a body moving along a Keplerian orbit. It is the angle between the direction of periapsis and the current position of the body, as seen from the main focus of the ellipse (the point around which the object orbits).
The true anomaly is usually denoted by the Greek letters or, or the Latin letter .
The true anomaly is one of three angular parameters ("anomalies") that define a position along an orbit; the other two being the eccentric anomaly and the mean anomaly.
Famous quotes containing the word true:
“Each humblest plant, or weed, as we call it, stands there to express some thought or mood of ours; and yet how long it stands in vain!... Beauty and true wealth are always thus cheap and despised.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)