ESS101C
Prof.
Jin-Yi Yu
Eccentricity of The Elliptical Orbit
qThe degree to which the orbit is
elliptical is called the eccentricity.
qThe eccentricity is defined as
the ratio of the distance between the center of the ellipse to either focus to the
distance from the center to the edge of the ellipse along the major axis.
qThe smaller the eccentricity,
the more circular the ellipse is.
(from Earth’s Climate: Past and Future)