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The Earth and Beyond

Orbit - General.

A planet, asteroid or comet may orbit a star.
An artificial satellite or moon may orbit a planet.

An object's orbit can be circular or elliptical.
The orbit may be small if the object is close to the mass which it is orbiting
or the orbit may be very large if the object is far away.

The exact size and shape of an orbit depends on
the speed and direction of the object and the force of gravity.

For a circular orbit, the smaller the orbit the faster an object is moving.
Mercury is moving faster than Venus,
Jupiter is moving faster than Neptune.
See the summary, the picture of the solar system and Artificial Satellites.

An object in an elliptical orbit will have a changing speed
according to how close it is to the mass which it is orbiting.

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Copyright © 2008 Dr. Colin France. All Rights Reserved.