All Questions
Tagged with celestial-mechanics planets
70
questions
15
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Simulating solar system with Newton's law
I made a simulation in C++ with Newtons law and test it comparing the planets positions with the position from Solar system Calculator Don Cross (which I converted from JavaScript to C++)
http://...
- 327
1
vote
1
answer
60
views
Understanding the third Kepler law [closed]
Consider a system of two masse $M$ and $m$ with $m<<M$ and the mass $m$ orbiting around $M$. Then $m$ describes a elliptic orbit with period $P$ and the third Kepler law states that:
$$\frac{P^2}...
- 183
15
votes
6
answers
4k
views
What's the actual path of the planets?
I read about Kepler's Laws and in one of them he mentions that the path of a planet is an ellipse, with the sun as one of its foci (I'm narrowing down this to only our solar system).
However though I'...
- 1,233
0
votes
1
answer
259
views
Orbit eccentricity and initial velocity
I was thinking about orbital velocities, and came across this question (Velocity of satellites greater than required velocity). Does the answer to this question imply that for planets going round the ...
- 141
1
vote
2
answers
5k
views
How do scientists calculate the orbital period of a planet?
It is known that you can calculate the distance to a planet using parallax, but how do scientists calculate the orbital period of a planet?
(Assuming they don't know the distance and can't use Kepler'...
2
votes
2
answers
479
views
What determines if an object will stay in a planet's orbit? [duplicate]
Say you threw an object 10 AU from a planet at a certain speed, would this object stay orbiting around the planet or would it shoot off into space? And does it depend of the speed the object when it ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
124
views
Lorenz System in reference to Astrophysics / Planetary orbits
From my research I have found that there are a system of ordinary differential equations for atmospheric convection.
What I am seeking are any Lorenz equations that apply to any areas of Astrophysics ...
- 19
0
votes
1
answer
66
views
Validity of the two-body system approximation in astrophysics
I'm taking an intro course in astrophysics and studying Kepler's Laws of planetary motion - all of which are built over the assumption that we can approximate our system to one where there's only two ...
- 548
3
votes
2
answers
395
views
How Can I Calculate the Speed Required for an Orbiting Planet to Pass Through a Given Point in Space?
I've been trying to derive an equation for this for a while now, but I haven't had much success.
Let us set up the equation. There is a star with mass $M$ and a planet that is distance $d$ from the ...
- 131
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
Why are planet's maximal/minimal angular speed ratio harmonic?
See this Wikipedia page for Harmonices Mundi, a book by Kepler (yes, he was the one to discover the three Kepler's laws). The author writes:
He found that the difference between the maximum and ...
- 1,335
0
votes
1
answer
66
views
Motions of planets from a non-rotating earth frame
Suppose you are hovering just above the earth at a fixed distance such that you are not rotating with it (the earth is obviously rotating about its own diametrical axis) but you are orbiting the sun ...
- 551
-1
votes
1
answer
285
views
Where does the radial velocity component come from?
Any object under the influence of a central force will have two components of velocities: Radial and rotational
I understand that the rotational velocity is there due to the centripetal force.
But ...
- 581
0
votes
1
answer
72
views
Can dark matter explain the unusual orbit of transnettunian objects? [closed]
While we are struggling to find an hypothetical planet 9 to explain the unusual orbit of transnettunian objects, I was wondering if it could be just dark matter.
We know that the universe is mostly ...
-1
votes
1
answer
148
views
Is space-time fabric around Uranus tilted?
I am completely new in this field, so please pardon me if I am asking something which makes no sense at all :)
The Situation:
According to Einstein's theory of relativity, there is a 4th dimension ...
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
Do all the planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the same direction and in the same plane?
Do all the planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the same direction and in the same plane? (as in a flat orbit if you are looking from "above")
