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Orbit
hideIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body, for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star.
Historically, the apparent motion of the planets were first understood in terms of epicycles, which are the sums of numerous circular motions. This predicted the path of the planets quite well, until Johannes Kepler was able to show that the motion of the planets were in fact elliptical motions.[citation needed] Isaac Newton was able to prove that this was equivalent to an inverse square, instantaneously propagating force he called gravitation.[citation needed] Albert Einstein later was able to show that gravity is due to curvature of space-time, and that orbits lie upon geodesics. This is the current understanding.
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News tagged with orbit
New structure could produce efficient semiconductor laser sources
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have achieved a nanoscale laser structure they anticipate will produce semiconductor lasers in the next two years that are more than twice as efficient ...
Pioneering images of both martian moons (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (17) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the very first time, the martian moons Phobos and Deimos have been caught on camera together. ESA's Mars Express orbiter took these pioneering images last month. Apart from their ‘wow’ ...
Final launch of Ariane 5 GS completes busy year
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Last week, an Ariane 5 GS launcher lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on a journey to place the French military reconnaissance satellite Helios-2B into Sun-synchronous polar ...
Largest Ring Around Saturn Discovered
Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered an enormous ring around Saturn -- by far the largest of the giant planet's many rings.
New NASA temperature maps provide 'whole new way of seeing the moon'
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's first-ever moon temperature-mapping effort has returned its first data.
Gravity wells could provide 'parking lots' for spaceships
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2009 |
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Nature has provided five huge rest stops far out in space for the convenience of spacecraft traveling from Earth. Some NASA folks call them "parking lots" in space.
Double engine for a nebula
Aug 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The new image, showing a very rich field of stars towards the Carina arm of the Milky Way, is centred on the star HD 87643, a member of the exotic class of B[e] stars [1]. It is part of a ...
Discovery of a Retrograde or Highly Tilted Extrasolar Planet
Nov 18, 2009 |
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Astronomers have found that the extrasolar planet HAT-P-7b has a retrograde or highly tilted orbit. Studying such planets is important in understanding the diversity of planetary systems and assessing current ...
GPS System Could Start Failing by Next Year
May 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A federal watchdog agency has warned the U.S. Congress that the GPS system could start failing in 2010 and beyond. Due to delays in launching replacement satellites and other circumstances, ...
Predicted Planet Seen -- First Since Neptune 162 Years Ago
Dec 09, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen of the University of Rochester predicted that a planet of a particular size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star. That planet has now been photographed by ...
Scientists cool gas by laser bombardment
Sep 02, 2009 |
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Three decades ago, American and Finnish scientists came up with a very powerful method for cooling gases by "laser bombardment." Only now were physicists at the University of Bonn able to demonstrate that it actually works. ...
New Transient Radiation Belt Discovered at Saturn
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
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Scientists using the Cassini spacecraft's Magnetospheric Imaging instrument (MIMI) have detected a new, temporary radiation belt at Saturn, located around the orbit of its moon Dione at about 377 000 km ...
How to deflect asteroids and save the Earth
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 16, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
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You may want to thank David French in advance. Because, in the event that a comet or asteroid comes hurtling toward Earth, he may be the guy responsible for saving the entire planet.
Ganymede makes big impression on Jupiter's auroral lightshows (w/ Video)
Sep 18, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Studies of features in Jupiter’s spectacular and rapidly changing aurorae have given new insights into the complex electromagnetic interactions between the giant planet and two of its innermost ...
The Hot Saturn Exoplanet
Oct 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the roughly 350 known exoplanets (i.e., extrasolar planets), the one orbiting the star HD149026 is unique.
