Elliptic orbit

In astrodynamics or celestial mechanics, an elliptical orbit or eccentric orbit is an orbit with an eccentricity of less than 1; this includes the special case of a circular orbit, with eccentricity equal to 0. Some orbits have been referred to as "elongated orbits" if the eccentricity is "high" but that is not an explanatory term. For the simple two body problem, all orbits are ellipses.

In a gravitational two-body problem, both bodies follow similar elliptical orbits with the same orbital period around their common barycenter. The relative position of one body with respect to the other also follows an elliptic orbit.

In the solar system the dominant mass of the sun ensures planets each follow nearly circular elliptic orbits (e near 0) with the sun at the main focus while comets such as Halley is highly eccentric or elongated orbit (e near 1). Examples of elliptic orbits or trajectories for satellites include Hohmann transfer orbits, Molniya orbits, and tundra orbits.

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