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There has been a similar question about planets' orbits being ellipses but the answer circulates around how the circle is a special type of orbit which doesn't really answer my question.

Elaborate Question: What are the factors or any mathematical idea or any law that suggests the elliptical orbits of a binary system? How does it explain the elliptical orbit concept? Or is it based simply on observations?

Qmechanic
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Aarushi Agarwal
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  • Possible duplicates: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/112668/2451 , https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/56657/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Jul 31 '22 at 08:06
  • Hi, @Qmechanic, If this is a duplicate could you state why and how this relates to this because i know it involves Kepler's law but how is the question – Aarushi Agarwal Jul 31 '22 at 08:07
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    Elliptical orbits were stated in Kepler's first law as the result of observations. Newton showed that Kepler's laws can be derived from his theory of gravity. – Peter Jul 31 '22 at 08:09
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    https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/c/Conic+sections "The four classic conic sections can be produced by the intersection of a plane through a cone. The four conic sections are the circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola." "Curiously, in astronomy, the Newtonian solutions to the two-body problem forces binary stars, planets and comets to trace a path that always corresponds to one of the four conic sections." For the existing planets, the probability they would be trapped in the symmetric in axis orbit of a circle is much smaller than the asymmetric of an elipse (answering title) – anna v Jul 31 '22 at 08:26
  • What do you mean. usually? – J.G. Jul 31 '22 at 13:14
  • @nielsnielsen Circular orbits are elliptical. – J.G. Jul 31 '22 at 18:19

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