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:
“... in writing you cannot possibly be interesting if what you say is not true, if it is what I call “a true lie,” i.e., a truth which gives the wrong impression. For no matter how subtly you lie in writing, people know it and don’t believe you, and the whole secret of being interesting is to be believed.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)