orbital mechanics

3 articles · All tags

• Solar Eclipses: How They Work and Why Totality Is Rare
  A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. Learn the types, why totality is rare, the Saros cycle, and how to watch one safely.
• Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
  The three empirical laws describing planetary orbits: ellipses, equal areas in equal times, and the relation between period and orbit size.
• Tidal Locking
  Why one side of a moon or planet permanently faces its partner: the gravitational dance that synchronizes rotation with orbit.