What are some simple activities or demonstrations that illustrate the principles of orbital mechanics?

... orbital radius, around planets with the same mass, will have the same orbital speed. Remember that this relationship only applies in the case of circular orbits ... Oct 1, 2024 ... Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our Sun. Jan 12, 2021 ... The force of gravity holds Earth and other planets in predictable orbits around the Sun. Gravity also produces more complicated and even ... Mar 7, 2018 ... The planets do all orbit in elliptical orbits at slightly different angles, but it looks very similar to circular orbits on a flat plane. Aug 21, 2013 ... ... which orbits its star in just 8.5 hours. (Image credit: Cristina Sanchis Ojeda). Astronomers have discovered a hot Earth-size planet so close ... Apr 18, 2025 ... Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable. Build a mechanical model of the solar system including the sun and eight planets (also known as an orrery), wind it up, and watch the planets revolve around the ... Ellipses are closed so the planets we see in elliptical orbits stick around. A circle is a special case of an ellipse and it is theoretically possible for an ... Apr 30, 2021 ... (Since normal exoplanet techniques, like transiting, require multiple detections over many orbital periods, exoplanets with large orbits take ... The orbits of the planets ; Earth. 365.26d. 0.98 ; Mars. 686.98d. 1.38 ; Jupiter. 11.86y. 4.95 ; Saturn. 29.46y. 9.01.