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When you look into the night sky with just your eyes, you will easily see the Moon, some planets, and stars. One thing all of these bodies have in common is that they move in orbits that can be defined by a set of numbers. The Moon is orbiting Earth. The planets are orbiting the sun. The stars are orbiting the center of our galaxy. This set of numbers is commonly referred to as orbital elements. Below is an example of an orbit:
| Orbit |
| &omega [J2000] | 267.7° |
| &Omega [J2000] | 335.1° |
| i [J2000] | 5.4° |
| q (AU) | 0.581 |
| e | 0.760 |
| a (AU) | 2.416 |
What do each of these symbols and abbreviations mean?
- "ω [J2000]": This is the symbol used to represent the Argument of Perihelion.
- "Ω [J2000]": This is the symbol used to represent the Ascending Node.
- "i [J2000]": This abbreviation represents the inclination.
- "q (AU)": This abbreviation represents the perihelion distance, or the closest distance from the sun.
- "e": This abbreviation represents the eccentricity.
- "a (AU)": This abbreviation represents the semi-major axis.
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