Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Orbital phasing is primarily used in scenarios where a spacecraft in a given orbit must be moved to a different location within the same orbit. The change in position within the orbit is usually defined as the phase angle, ϕ, and is the change in true anomaly required between the spacecraft's current position to the final position.
The template takes a single optional parameter—a description of what the image should illustrate. Adds page to Category:Wikipedia requested orbital diagrams . If you are requesting a technical illustration (e.g. a graph), please provide as much reference data as possible.
The phase angle α is the angle between the source of the radiation (usually the Sun) and the observing direction, and varies from zero for light scattered back towards the source, to 180° for observations looking towards the source. For example, during opposition or looking at the full moon, α is very small, while backlit objects or the new ...
In astronomy, a phase curve describes the brightness of a reflecting body as a function of its phase angle (the arc subtended by the observer and the Sun as measured at the body). The brightness usually refers the object's absolute magnitude , which, in turn, is its apparent magnitude at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Earth and Sun.
For some objects, such as the Moon (see lunar phases), Venus and Mercury the phase angle (as seen from the Earth) covers the full 0–180° range. The superior planets cover shorter ranges. For example, for Mars the maximum phase angle is about 45°. For Jupiter, the maximum is 11.1° and for Saturn 6°. [1]
It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Earth directly above the Equator, the plane of the satellite's orbit is the same as the Earth's equatorial plane, and the satellite's orbital inclination is 0°. The general case for a circular ...
The flight path angle is the angle between the orbiting body's velocity vector (equal to the vector tangent to the instantaneous orbit) and the local horizontal. Under standard assumptions of the conservation of angular momentum the flight path angle ϕ {\displaystyle \phi } satisfies the equation: [ 6 ]
The orientation of the orbit in space is specified by three angles: The inclination i, of the orbital plane with the fundamental plane (this is usually a planet or moon's equatorial plane, or in the case of a solar orbit, the Earth's orbital plane around the Sun, known as the ecliptic.) Positive inclination is northward, while negative ...