Equatorial Orbit
Get Equatorial Orbit essential facts below. View Videos or join the Equatorial Orbit discussion. Add Equatorial Orbit to your PopFlock.com topic list for future reference or share this resource on social media.
Equatorial Orbit

A non-inclined orbit is an orbit coplanar with a plane of reference. The orbital inclination is 0° for prograde orbits, and ? (180°) for retrograde ones. If the plane of reference is a massive spheroid body's equatorial plane, these orbits are called equatorial; if the plane of reference is the ecliptic plane, they are called ecliptic.

As these orbits lack nodes, the ascending node is usually taken to lie in the reference direction (usually the vernal equinox), and thus the longitude of the ascending node is taken to be zero. Also, the argument of periapsis is undefined.

Geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous example of an equatorial orbit.

See also




Music Scenes