Orbital Parameters, Eccentricity

THE SUN SHOWERS the Earth in solar energy with varying intensity over time, while the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun affects how that energy is received. Eccentricity is the degree that the orbit deviates from a perfect circle. Seasons on Earth are modulated by the eccentricity of the orbital path around the sun, the precession effect, and the position of the solstices in the yearly revolution. Eccentricity plays not only a role in the diversity of the seasons, but also in the degree of climate change affecting Earth over the long term.

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) discovered, through astronomical observations, that the Earth moved in an elliptical path around the sun. This could be expressed mathematically, and one of the parameters, eccentricity, ranges between a value ...