What does it mean when the orbital eccentricity of a planet is close to 1?(1 point)
Responses
its orbit is a highly elongated ellipsis.
its orbit is a highly elongated ellipsis.
Its orbit is not closed around a fixed point
Its orbit is not closed around a fixed point
Its orbit crosses over the orbit of another planet.
Its orbit crosses over the orbit of another planet.
its orbit is close to another planet's.
its orbit is a highly elongated ellipsis.
The correct response is: its orbit is a highly elongated ellipse.
When the orbital eccentricity of a planet is close to 1, it means that its orbit is a highly elongated ellipse. This is because eccentricity measures how much an orbit deviates from a perfect circle, with eccentricity values ranging from 0 (perfect circle) to 1 (highly elongated ellipse). So, when the eccentricity is close to 1, it indicates that the planet's orbit is stretched out and not circular.
To determine the orbital eccentricity of a planet, you would need to know its semi-major axis and semi-minor axis. The semi-major axis is the average distance from the planet to its primary object (such as the Sun), while the semi-minor axis represents half of the minor axis of the elliptical orbit.
To calculate eccentricity, use the formula:
eccentricity = √(1 - (semi-minor axis / semi-major axis)^2)