The curved path that a planet follows around the Sun is called what?

The curved path that a planet follows around the Sun is called what?

• A. Orbit
• B. Rotation
• C. Tilt
• D. Phase

Answer: (A)

An orbit is the curved path a planet follows around the Sun because gravity keeps it bound to the Sun. The motion arises from the balance between a planet’s inertia, which tends to move it in a straight line, and the Sun’s gravity pulling it inward, resulting in a continuous curved trajectory. Planets travel in roughly elliptical paths with the Sun at one focus, not a perfect circle. This is different from rotation, which is spinning on the planet’s own axis; tilt, which is the tilt of that axis relative to the orbital plane; and phase, which describes how much of the planet’s day side we see illuminated.

An orbit is the curved path a planet follows around the Sun because gravity keeps it bound to the Sun. The motion arises from the balance between a planet’s inertia, which tends to move it in a straight line, and the Sun’s gravity pulling it inward, resulting in a continuous curved trajectory. Planets travel in roughly elliptical paths with the Sun at one focus, not a perfect circle. This is different from rotation, which is spinning on the planet’s own axis; tilt, which is the tilt of that axis relative to the orbital plane; and phase, which describes how much of the planet’s day side we see illuminated.