Mechanics of particles and systems Orbital mechanics Concept
Osculating orbit
Summary
The osculating orbit of a body at an instant is the Kepler orbit it would follow if the other forces were switched off then. Only the main central attraction is kept. It has the same position and velocity as the true motion at that time. Its orbital elements, the osculating elements, change slowly under perturbations, and following their change is the classical way to study perturbed motion. See the definition.
Where this leads
2 pages build on this one.
Further reading
About this page
| Tag | KAJTW4B41Q |
|---|---|
| URI | m2://KAJTW4B41Q |
| Kind | concept |
| Writing | W0 stub |
| MSC | 70F15, 70M20 |
| Same as | |
| Changed | 3 November 2026 |
Markdown · JSON · Edit on GitHub
What this page needs for W1
- an inventory row: the row of the inventory that the node accounts for (0 of 1)
- a source with a locator (0 of 1)
The writing levels say how complete the text of a page is. They do not measure its truth.