• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / How Many Different Types of Orbital Patterns Do Planets Have and What Are the Different Orbits Called?

How Many Different Types of Orbital Patterns Do Planets Have and What Are the Different Orbits Called?

June 10, 2020 by Karen Hill

There are three basic solar orbits: elliptical, parabolic, and hyperbolic.

Planets have elliptical orbits, bound by the force of the Sun’s gravity.

Elliptical orbits can be anywhere between almost circular and almost flat ovals.

If the speed of an object is equal to the Sun’s escape velocity, 380 miles, or 630 km per second, it will have a parabolic orbit.

It will swing in a relatively narrow arc around the Sun and then fly off into space.

An object with even greater speed than escape velocity will have a hyperbolic orbit.

Its arc around the Sun will be wide and then it, too, will fly off into space.

Related Facts

  • Why Does the Paradox of Zeno of Elea Say That an Object In Motion Is Also Stationary and What Does It Mean?
  • How Dangerous Are Bullets Fired In the Air If They Hit Somebody Falling Back Down?
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented
  • Why Do the Planets In Our Solar System Have Elliptical Orbits and What Is a Planet’s Aphelion and Perihelion?
  • Who Discovered the laws of planetary motion and that planets orbit around the sun in ellipses?
  • How Did Yi Save the World In Ancient Chinese Mythology and Why Were There Ten Suns?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Are the Inferior and Superior Planets and What Is the Difference Between Superior and Inferior Planets?
Next Post: What Are Minor Planet Asteroids Made of and What Is the Difference Between C-Type and M-Type Asteroids? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy