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The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy , it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun , moons orbiting planets, exoplanets orbiting other stars , or binary stars .
The orbital period is equal to that for a circular orbit with the orbit radius equal to the semi-major axis (), For a given semi-major axis the orbital period does not depend on the eccentricity (See also: Kepler's third law).
Kepler's 3rd law of planetary motion states, the square of the periodic time is proportional to the cube of the mean distance, [4] or a 3 ∝ P 2 , {\displaystyle {a^{3}}\propto {P^{2}},} where a is the semi-major axis or mean distance, and P is the orbital period as above.
The exact form of the metric g μν depends on the gravitating mass, momentum and energy, as described by the Einstein field equations. Einstein developed those field equations to match the then known laws of Nature; however, they predicted never-before-seen phenomena (such as the bending of light by gravity) that were confirmed later.
Orbital period can be found from n given the fact that the mean motion can be described as a frequency (number of orbits per unit time), which is the inverse of period. = if n is in radians, or = if n is in degrees.
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. It is defined as the difference true anomaly, ν, minus mean anomaly, M, and is ...
In astrodynamics, an orbit equation defines the path of orbiting body around central body relative to , without specifying position as a function of time.Under standard assumptions, a body moving under the influence of a force, directed to a central body, with a magnitude inversely proportional to the square of the distance (such as gravity), has an orbit that is a conic section (i.e. circular ...
Note that the semi-major axis is proportional to the 2/3 power of the orbital period. For example, planets in a 2:3 orbital resonance (such as plutinos relative to Neptune ) will vary in distance by (2/3) 2/3 = −23.69% and +31.04% relative to one another.