Questions tagged [orbital-motion]
The path a body takes while moving through space under the influence of the gravitational forces of other bodies
1,589
questions
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23 views
Calculation of magnitude and direction of impulse [on hold]
A satelite of mass 50kg is to be put into orbit 500km above the earth surface assummed to be of uniform radius.if after its launch the velocity is 2000m/s ,calculate the magnitude and direction of ...
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1answer
38 views
Implication of Earnshaw theorem to the orbit of the moon
Can we apply Earnshaw theorem in circular/elliptical/hyperbolic orbits? I was wondering how did the moon stop at its current stationary orbit. It seems to me the fragments that gave origin to the moon ...
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0answers
14 views
Acceleration of a satellite orbiting Mars
I am studying how a satellite would move in orbit around Mars. I have calculated the velocity of its movement. However, if the gravity of Mars is the only force affecting the movement of the satellite,...
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0answers
23 views
Problem with relative magnetic reference frames [closed]
I came across this problem a while ago and I'd like to solve it, but I'm not even sure where to start. I know I need to use the magnetic reference frame to its angular rate of change, then use it to ...
1
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0answers
15 views
Problem with relative reference frames [closed]
I came across this problem a while ago and I'd like to solve it, but I'm not even sure where to start. How would I start this problem and what formulas do I need? I'm not asking for a solution, but ...
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3answers
96 views
Physical reason for $T^2=a^3$ when $T$ is in years and $a$ is in AU
Kepler's third law states $$T^2\propto a^3$$
When $T$ is in years and $a$ is in AU, the proportionality constant becomes $1$. This can't be a coincidence; I would like to know the physical reason for ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Satellites orbiting around any planet's [closed]
Suppose a satellite is revolving around a planet with radius r. Now if we increase the value of r then the angular velocity and kinetic energy will decrease, but the total energy & potential ...
1
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1answer
12 views
Even and odd polar coordinates in general orbits
I'm learning about orbits in classical mechanics at the moment. I'm not understanding something about the evenness of the distance component and oddness of the angle component.
I see that the radial ...
0
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1answer
34 views
Free return trajectory versus burning rocket
It is said that Apollo was set to the free return trajectory while leaving earths gravity, heading to moon.Now the Free return trajectory is the one in which satellite uses moon gravity to return back ...
3
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2answers
74 views
Escape velocity and orbital velocity confusion
If orbital velocity is reduced when we want to put a satellite in a higher orbit, and if to achieve a lower orbit we need to increase it's velocity, then how come by increasing the speed of the ...
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0answers
27 views
Inextensible filament structure in gravitational field
Let $\gamma$ be a curve lying in a gravitational field with each point moving as an independent point mass. Formally,
\begin{equation}
\partial^2_t \gamma(u, t) = -\nabla U(\gamma(u, t)),
\end{...
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0answers
27 views
Achieve geosynchronous orbital speeds at leo while moving relative to a electric field
Would it be possible for an object to move at geosynchronous orbital speeds at LEO? Assume that a superconductive ring extending around the entire Earth existed at the same height as the ISS. Could an ...
0
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1answer
58 views
Can dark matter explain the unusual orbit of transnettunian objects? [closed]
While we are struggling to find an hypothetical planet 9 to explain the unusual orbit of transnettunian objects, I was wondering if it could be just dark matter.
We know that the universe is mostly ...
0
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2answers
59 views
Creating a Gravitational 2-body simulation
I am trying to create a simulation for a gravitational 2 body problem.
But I am kind of having trouble to define the equations that can be solve numerically. From an inertial frame I defined the ...
0
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1answer
57 views
Relation of specific angular momentum $h$ with velocity and impact parameter for massive particle?
I am computing the path of an incoming massive (!!) particle with speed $v$ far from the black hole in the schwarzchild metric. To determine its path, i need to input the specific angular momentum ...
0
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1answer
47 views
Could a planet have terminal velocity greater than its escape velocity?
I've had 2 semesters of college-level physics (1 of Mechanics and 1 of E&M) and was wondering after exploring a bit about terminal velocity:
Is it physically possible for a planet to have a ...
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votes
2answers
122 views
Can we deorbit space trash into the sun by splitting it in two?
So there's an issue of deorbiting stuff because if you just deorbit it a little, it'll enter a more elliptical orbit but still hit you in the back when you return to this place a year later.
Size and ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
How to simulate an explosion in space [closed]
I have a simulation of some bodies orbiting each other in space, and I would like to add explosions to it to see how the behave, but I don't know how to do it.
Sorry if this is has been asked before, ...
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vote
2answers
52 views
Why does earth not follow the same rule around sun as moon follows around earth?
As you all know that only one side of the moon faces earth through the whole of its journey. The reason why it happens can be owed to the fact that the center of gravity of the moon (because of ...
1
vote
2answers
86 views
About Mercury perihelion again
Sorry to bother you, but I did not get anywhere answer what exactly moves Mercury periapsis. "Sun gravity" or "GR" or "warp of spacetime" are very broad answers, I want to know how they affect this ...
0
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2answers
58 views
Is the Moon's rotation affected by Earth's?
There is a lot written on the moon affecting the Earth's rotation but not so much the other way around.
I know that moon has its own rotation:
Tidal locking is the phenomenon by which a body has ...
0
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0answers
9 views
What is topocentric horizon coordinate system?
I was going through the book Orbital Mechanics by Howard Curtis and in the book he talks about topocentric horizon frame and its angular velocity about an inertial frame? What does it mean and how do ...
10
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3answers
1k views
Why does an orbit become hyperbolic when total orbital energy is positive?
I stumbled across this page describing the energy of a given object in orbit.
It describes 'total energy' as:
$$E_{k} + E_{p} = E_{\mathrm{total}} $$
where
$$E_k = \frac{1}{2}mv^2$$
and
$$E_p = \...
0
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1answer
43 views
In a binary system, why $m_1 a_1 = m_2 a_2$?
In the center of mass coordinate, $m_1 r_1 = m_2 r_2$, which is straightforward. Yet in this detailed deviation of radial velocity page 27, it says that the $r_1$, which is the magnitude of the vector ...
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1answer
55 views
Express the total mass of the galaxy in solar masses
I have the following problem:
"The Sun has an orbital speed of about 220 km s−1 around the center
of the Galaxy, whose distance is 28 000 light years. Estimate the total
mass of the Galaxy in ...
0
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1answer
54 views
How massive does a satellite have to be in order to shift the earth's orbit around the sun?
How massive does a satellite have to be in order to shift the earth's orbit around the sun? I am wondering how massive a satellite has to be in order to be able to shift the orbit of the earth by ...
0
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0answers
29 views
Kepler's law for comparable masses
I've recently been studying about Kepler's 3rd law... I went through the modification of it when the orbiting masses are comparable in terms of their mass.It was almost symmetric with the one I learnt ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
Intersection angle for two orbits?
If there are two circular orbits, each with the same semi-major axis, and the two orbits only differ in inclination and RAAN; what is the intersection angle between the two? Example: two satellites in ...
1
vote
2answers
51 views
Geosynchronous satellites with polar orbit?
I know that satellites can go in polar orbits, but as far as I have read, this is only done by LEO satellites. I think it is possible to have geosynchronous satellites with polar orbits (near polar), ...
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votes
1answer
49 views
Finding free orbit formula by cartesian coordinate
As a simple idea, I want to find a simple orbital function using calculus rather than using the law of Kepler. However, using the recurrence relation is too difficult to solve. Help me to solve...
0
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0answers
43 views
How is Schrodinger's model of atom consistent with reference to Maxwell's Theory of Electromagnetic Radiation? [duplicate]
When Rutherford proposed his model of atom, he mentioned that "Nucleus is surrounded by electrons that move around the nucleus with very high speed in circular paths called orbits. James Maxwell ...
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2answers
55 views
Central force problem
Two masses, $m$ and $2m$, orbit around their CM (center of mass). If the orbits are circular, they don’t intersect. But if they are very elliptical, they do. What is the smallest value of the ...
0
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2answers
60 views
Relativistic Doppler Effect between rotating bodies
The Wikipedia article "Relativistic Doppler effect - One object in circular motion around the other" confused me.
There they say that when the light source orbits the observer, the observation of ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Are black holes affected by tidal forces?
I've recently read about the last parsec problem, which states that supermassive black holes should not be able to merge within the current age of the universe. Once they reach a distance of about one ...
0
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2answers
92 views
Calculate escape velocity without using energy? [closed]
Is it practically doable to calculate the escape velocity on the earth not by using the principle of energy conservation, but by calculating the velocity of the particle as a function of time using ...
22
votes
12answers
5k views
Escape Velocity - Won't the orbital path just become larger with higher initial velocity?
Escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for an object to escape from the gravitational influence of a massive body. However, gravity has infinite range. Object $A$ is always getting pulled by the ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Do all the planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the same direction and in the same plane?
Do all the planets in our solar system orbit the sun in the same direction and in the same plane? (as in a flat orbit if you are looking from "above")
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vote
1answer
122 views
Shouldn't cosmic rays slow down Earth's movement around the Sun?
Maybe a dumb question. Are cosmic rays slowing down earth's (or any planets) movement around the sun?
To me it sounds like an analogy of moving a mass through air and being slowed down by the impact ...
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votes
1answer
72 views
Modelling lunar motion in Python [closed]
I'm trying to solve the equations of motion of the Moon in the Moon-Sun-Earth system (equations 1139-1141 here:http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/336k/Newtonhtml/node130.html)
My initial ...
0
votes
1answer
84 views
How can I use Runge-Kutta4 to solve this orbit in polar coordinates?
I want to simulate a simple orbit of a planet moving around a star which is fixed in position. I have formulated the ODEs for this problem using Lagrangian Mechanics and have found the equations of ...
-1
votes
1answer
43 views
Satallite orbiting the earth [closed]
I need help understanding a question from my physics book.
It goes like this:
a communications firm wants to place a satellite in orbit so that it is always directly above the earth’s 45th ...
3
votes
2answers
104 views
Is the physics behind planetary travel simpler than atmospheric travel?
I've been watching a bunch of documentaries lately and had a question that I couldn't really figure out the answer to online. When spacecraft travel through space, are the equations and physics used ...
1
vote
1answer
149 views
Does an asymmetric top return to its initial position &orientation, while rotating freely in space? (contradiction in Landau&Lifshitz mechanics book)
The Poinsot's ellipsoid tells us that the angular momentum ($M$) (in the rotating frame) should be lying on the intersection curve between the conservation of momentum sphere radius $|M|$: $M_1^2 + ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Ptolemaic system parameters
I recently learned about the Ptolemaic system, which seems pretty accurate. There is even a simulator on the Internet: https://astro.unl.edu/naap/ssm/animations/ptolemaic.html
You can see that there ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
What is the relation between Earth's orbit and orbit of another planet around Sun? [closed]
Lately, I come across the following problem,
"The maximum and minimum speeds of a comet that orbits the Sun are 80 and 10 km/s respectively. The ratio of the aphelion distance of the comet to the ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
Show that angular momentum is independent of the angle
I was thinking about the Bohr atomic model which states, that the angular momentum (L) must be an integral multiple of the reduced Planck constant, this implies that $L=mvr$ must be constant for a ...
0
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0answers
17 views
Newtonian geodesic equation in barycentric frame
In a paper I was reading, I came across the Newtonian geodesic deviation equation
$${\ddot{\eta}}^a + K{^a}{_b}{\eta^b}=0$$
Where $\eta{^a}$ are the components of the 3 -vector separating the two ...
1
vote
2answers
59 views
How does spatial curvature apply to the planets' orbits?
We all know that in the presence of large, massive objects, spacetime is positively curved, more so the more massive it is. This means that the path of an object without any forces on it is a straight ...
1
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2answers
87 views
How is spacetime warped by a massive object?
I was going through this question (Why don't planets have Circular orbits?) related to planetary orbits. In the accepted answer it is stated that orbits are actually conic sections.
Given this ...
0
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2answers
67 views
Which orbit planet will take with 2 stars?
Is there a law or an equation that shows which star gravity will win and suck a a planet that has 2 stars
Assume planet P has 2 stars A & B
A is smaller than B
Planet P is closer to A more than ...
