While ancient astronomers thought planetary orbits were circular, they didn't think they were simple circles. One of the consequences of elliptical orbits is that planets orbit not about the ...

A newly discovered exoplanet three times bigger than Jupiter has been discovered orbiting its star in a bizarre, elliptical orbit, slingshot-style — and astronomers are excited. While ellipti… ...

From the June 2010 issue How difficult is it to launch an artificial satellite into a circular orbit versus an elliptical one? Is the final altitude of the orbit a key factor?

Elliptical and circular orbits are stable, so of course all the planets are characterized by these kinds of eccentricities. In a parabolic or hyperbolic orbit, however, an object approaches a ...

Comets actually have a wide variety of orbital shapes — and they’re not all extremely eccentric. Comets with very eccentric elliptical orbits arrive in the inner solar system from the Oort ...

All the latest science news on elliptical orbit from Phys.org. Find the latest news, advancements, and breakthroughs.