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Ignoring the influence of other Solar System bodies, Earth's orbit, also called Earth's revolution, is an ellipse with the Earth–Sun barycenter as one focus with a current eccentricity of 0.0167. Since this value is close to zero, the center of the orbit is relatively close to the center of the Sun (relative to the size of the orbit).
Thus, the Sun occupies 0.00001% (1 part in 10 7) of the volume of a sphere with a radius the size of Earth's orbit, whereas Earth's volume is roughly 1 millionth (10 −6) that of the Sun. Jupiter, the largest planet, is 5.2 AU from the Sun and has a radius of 71,000 km (0.00047 AU; 44,000 mi), whereas the most distant planet, Neptune, is 30 AU ...
An orbit will be Sun-synchronous when the precession rate ρ = dΩ / dt equals the mean motion of the Earth about the Sun n E, which is 360° per sidereal year (1.990 968 71 × 10 −7 rad/s), so we must set n E = ΔΩ E / T E = ρ = ΔΩ / T , where T E is the Earth orbital period, while T is the period of the spacecraft ...
A diagram showing the five Lagrangian points in a two-body system with one body far more massive than the other (e.g. the Sun and the Earth). In such a system, L 3 –L 5 are situated slightly outside of the secondary's orbit despite their appearance in this small scale diagram.
Solar System – gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are the planets (including Earth), with the remainder being significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies.
For Earth-orbiting satellites, the reference plane is usually the Earth's equatorial plane, and for satellites in solar orbits it is the ecliptic plane. The intersection is called the line of nodes , as it connects the reference body (the primary) with the ascending and descending nodes.
Scientists analyzed famed astronomer Johannes Kepler’s 1607 sketches of sunspots to solve a mystery about the sun’s solar cycle that has persisted for centuries.
It may also refer to the time it takes a satellite orbiting a planet or moon to complete one orbit. For celestial objects in general, the orbital period is determined by a 360° revolution of one body around its primary, e.g. Earth around the Sun. Periods in astronomy are expressed in units of time, usually hours, days, or years.