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The Dark Side
The Dark Side
7:24 PM
Hi @HDE226868. I was only wondering if one of you astro guys could help me get started with something, which you might a priori be very knowledgeable about.
I tried a shot at Rob Jeffries a little while back:
(Rob, I know this is old but,) sorry for a newbie question, can you point towards some starting point/some details of how exactly is an orbit sketched if one knows the instantaneous positions of the an object in orbit? — The Dark Side 2 days ago
The point is:
A non precessing orbit is straightforward to deal with.
Like you start in the x-y plane, and at the end of the orbit, you are still in the same plane.
But what happens with a precessing orbit?
I mean, at the end of a cycle, you've gone from z = 0 to some non-zero z value!
Any readings about modelling problems of this kind?
Suppose I track out the positions of an orbiting body at various times, is there any general precessing orbit equation, to which I can fit these values, and determine the properties of the orbit?
I am sure this must be a common problem in astrophysics.
Just need someone to point me towards the correct resources in this regard.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
@HDE226868 ^
 

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