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Definition: orbit from Philip's Encyclopedia

Path of a celestial body in a gravitational field. The path is usually a closed one about the focus of the system to which it belongs, as with those of the planets around the Sun. Most celestial orbits are elliptical, although the eccentricity can vary greatly. It is rare for an orbit to be parabolic or hyperbolic.


orbit

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in astronomy, path in space described by a body revolving about a second body where the motion of the orbiting bodies is dominated by their mutual gravitational attraction. Within the solar system, planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets orbit the sun and satellites orbit the planets and other bodies. From earliest times, astronomers assumed that the orbits in which the planets moved were circular; yet the numerous catalogs of measurements compiled especially during the 16th cent. did not fit this theory. At the beginning of the 17th cent., Johannes Kepler stated three laws of planetary motion that explained the observed data: the orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the sun at one focus; the speed of a planet varies in such a way that an imaginary line drawn from the planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal amounts of time; and the ratio of the squares of the periods of revolution of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from…
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Full text Article orbit

From The Macquarie Dictionary
the elliptical or curved path described by a celestial object or spacecraft, about a star or planet. Plural: orbits one complete circuit of an orbital path. Plural: orbits the path that one object takes in relation to a fixed point. Plural: orbits a course regularly pursued as in life. Plural: …
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Full text Article orbit

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
in astronomy, path in space described by a body revolving about a second body where the motion of the orbiting bodies is dominated by their mutual gravitational attraction. Within the solar system, planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets orbit the sun and satellites orbit the planets and other…
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Full text Article orbital

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Mathematical expression, called a wave function , that describes properties characteristic of no more than two electrons near an atomic nucleus or molecule. An orbital can be considered a three-dimensional region in which there is a 95% probability of finding an electron. Atomic orbitals are…
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Full text Article orbit

From The Penguin Dictionary of Physics
Trajectories that are solutions to NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION applied to the gravitational interaction between bodies in the solar system and beyond. The general solution of Newton's equations is a curve of the form: r = p/(1 + ecosθ), where p is called the semi-latus rectum and e is the eccentricity . …
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Full text Article orbit

From The Chambers Dictionary
the path in which a celestial body moves round another ( astron ), or ( phys ) that in which an electron moves round the nucleus of an atom (also or'bital ); a path in space round a celestial body; a regular course or beat, a sphere of action; (loosely) an orb; the hollow in which the eyeball rests…
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Full text Article orbit

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
a. The path of a celestial body or an artificial satellite as it revolves around another body due to their mutual gravitational attraction. b. One complete revolution of such a body. The path of a body in a field of force surrounding another body; for example, the movement of an atomic electron in…
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Full text Article orbit / orbital / shell

From The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style
These terms are closely related in physics, but there are important differences between them, and being aware of them helps keep the picture of atomic structure clear. Atoms consist of a tiny but heavy nucleus with a positive charge, surrounded by very light electrons with a negative charge. Since…
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Full text Article orbit

From Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
skull of adult human: A anterior view, B lateral...
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Lunar Orbiter was a spacecraft programme designed to image possible landing sites for the manned Apollo spacecraft. It was also to monitor micrometeorites and particle radiation in the Moon's vicinity to show that the environment was safe. NASA launched five Lunar Orbiters between August 1966 and…
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Full text Article orbital elements

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
The parameters that specify the position and motion of a celestial body in its orbit and that can be established by observation (see illustration). Osculating elements specify the instantaneous position and velocity of a body in a perturbed orbit (see osculating orbit ). Mean elements are those of…
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