Circular Orbits (AQA GCSE Physics)

Orbital Motion

• There are many orbiting objects in our solar system

  • They each orbit a different type of planetary body

Orbiting Objects or Bodies in Our Solar System Table

• A smaller body or object will orbit a larger body

• In order to orbit a body such as a star or a planet, there has to be a force pulling things towards that body

  • Gravity provides this force

• The gravitational force exerted by the larger body on the orbiting object is always attractive

• Therefore, the gravitational force always acts towards the centre of the larger body

• The gravitational force is the centripetal force as it will cause the body to move and maintain in a circular path

Gravitational attraction causes the Moon to orbit around the Earth

Circular Motion in an Orbit

• Planets travel around the Sun in orbits that are (approximately) circular

• Objects in circular orbit are travelling at a constant speed

• The orbit is a circular path, therefore the direction in which the object is travelling will be constantly changing direction

• A change in direction causes a change in velocity

• Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, therefore if the object is constantly changing direction then its velocity is constantly changing and so the object in orbit is accelerating

• A resultant force is needed to cause an acceleration

• This resultant force is gravity and it must act at right angles to the instantaneous velocity of the object to create a circular orbit

  • This is always towards the centre of the orbit

  • The instantaneous velocity of the object is the velocity at a given time

The direction of the instantaneous velocity and the gravitational force at different points of the Earth’s orbit around the sun

Circular Orbits

Planets

• There are several similarities in the way different planets orbit the Sun:

  • Their orbits are all slightly elliptical (stretched circles) with the Sun at one focus (approximately the centre of the orbit)

  • They all orbit in the same plane

  • They all travel the same direction around the Sun

• There are also a few differences:

  • They orbit at different distances from the Sun

  • They orbit at different speeds

  • They all take different amounts of time to orbit the Sun

Orbit of planets around the Sun

Moons

• Moons will orbit planets in a circular path

• Some planets will have more than one moon

• The closer the moon is to the planet:

  • The shorter the time it will take to orbit

  • The greater the speed in the orbit

Artificial Satellites

• A satellite needs to travel at a specific speed to maintain a circular orbit at a particular distance from the object

• If the speed of the satellite is too big:

  • The radius of the orbit will increase and the satellite will spiral into space

  • This is because the gravitational attraction cannot provide enough force to keep it in orbit

• If the speed of the satellite is too small:

  • The radius of the orbit will decrease and the satellite will move towards the object it should be orbiting

  • This is because the gravitational attraction is too strong to maintain a constant orbital radius

Diagram showing how the speed of an artificial satellite affects its orbit

• If an artificial satellite is to change the radius at which it is orbiting then the speed at which it is travelling must change

• To maintain a stable orbit:

  • If the speed increases the radius must decrease

  • If the speed decreases the radius must increase