A High Elliptical orbit is best described as which?

A High Elliptical orbit is best described as which?

• A. Circle
• B. Parabola
• C. Hyperbola
• D. Ellipse

Answer: (D)

Orbits under gravity form conic sections, and the shape reflects the energy and angular momentum of the motion. A bound orbit is an ellipse, with a circle being a special case where the eccentricity is zero. A high elliptical orbit is simply a highly elongated ellipse—still a closed, bound path around the body, just with a much closer approach at one end and a much farther point at the other. Parabolic and hyperbolic paths, on the other hand, are open trajectories where the object escapes the planet’s gravity. So, a high elliptical orbit is best described as an ellipse.

Orbits under gravity form conic sections, and the shape reflects the energy and angular momentum of the motion. A bound orbit is an ellipse, with a circle being a special case where the eccentricity is zero. A high elliptical orbit is simply a highly elongated ellipse—still a closed, bound path around the body, just with a much closer approach at one end and a much farther point at the other. Parabolic and hyperbolic paths, on the other hand, are open trajectories where the object escapes the planet’s gravity. So, a high elliptical orbit is best described as an ellipse.