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A circular orbit is depicted in the top-left quadrant of this diagram, where the gravitational potential well of the central mass shows potential energy, and the kinetic energy of the orbital speed is shown in red. The height of the kinetic energy remains constant throughout the constant speed circular orbit.
In celestial mechanics, the mean anomaly is the fraction of an elliptical orbit's period that has elapsed since the orbiting body passed periapsis, expressed as an angle which can be used in calculating the position of that body in the classical two-body problem.
Define the angular distance along the plane of the orbit from the ascending node to the pericenter as the argument of the pericenter, ω. Define the mean anomaly, M, as the angular distance from the pericenter which the body would have if it moved in a circular orbit, in the same orbital period as the actual body in its elliptical orbit.
The mean anomaly changes linearly with time, scaled by the mean motion, [2] =. where μ is the standard gravitational parameter. Hence if at any instant t 0 the orbital parameters are (e 0, a 0, i 0, Ω 0, ω 0, M 0), then the elements at time t = t 0 + δt is given by (e 0, a 0, i 0, Ω 0, ω 0, M 0 + n δt).
The true anomaly is usually denoted by the Greek letters ν or θ, or the Latin letter f, and is usually restricted to the range 0–360° (0–2π rad). The true anomaly f is one of three angular parameters (anomalies) that defines a position along an orbit, the other two being the eccentric anomaly and the mean anomaly.
In two-body, Keplerian orbital mechanics, the equation of the center is the angular difference between the actual position of a body in its elliptical orbit and the position it would occupy if its motion were uniform, in a circular orbit of the same period.
In the case of circular orbits it is often assumed that the periapsis is placed at the ascending node and therefore ω = 0. However, in the professional exoplanet community, ω = 90° is more often assumed for circular orbits, which has the advantage that the time of a planet's inferior conjunction (which would be the time the planet would ...
Circular orbits, having no eccentricity, give no means by which to orient the coordinate system about the focus. [5] The perifocal coordinate system may also be used as an inertial frame of reference because the axes do not rotate relative to the fixed stars. This allows the inertia of any orbital bodies within this frame of reference to be ...