Orbit

space · gravity · planets

Gravity's leash. An orbit is the curved path an object takes when an attracting force, like gravity, keeps pulling it around. That's how planets circle the Sun and moons circle planets.

Not perfect circles. Most orbits are actually slightly squished ovals called ellipses. The object being orbited sits at a special point inside the ellipse, not the center.

Made by humans too. Artificial satellites are objects we launch into orbit around Earth, the Moon, asteroids, or other spots in space.

Kepler's rules. A scientist named Kepler figured out laws that describe exactly how planets and satellites move along their elliptical orbits.

Round and round. An orbit usually repeats over and over, like a track an object travels again and again without ever stopping.