What is the reason and the cause why the Earth follows and eliptical orbit around the Sun?

Answer 1

How elliptical an orbit is is a measurement called eccentricity. At 0 eccentricity, the orbit is circular. However, it is practically impossible for any orbit to remain perfectly circular due to external peturbations. So, every closed orbit in the universe has some amount of eccentricity to it, even if it's miniscule.

Answer 2

Kepler's First Law states, "The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun at one focus". Of course, it holds true for any orbiting body, not just planets around the sun. It's tied in with Newton's laws of gravity, so it's a little bit like asking "Why is it that 'what goes up must come down.'" It has to, that's the law!

Answer 3

The first thing remember is that the "elliptical orbit" is almost unnoticably so. It is almost completely circular. In school textbooks, they greatly exaggerate the elliptical orbit. The reason orbit is elliptical is because the earth is slowly spiraling down toward the sun and the gravitational field of the sun is not perfectly symmetrical on the plane of our orbit.

Answer 4

Newton gave a proof that all orbits must be elliptical using Euclidean geometry. Richard Feynman used to start one of his physics courses with the same thing. Feynman's proof was slightly different from Newton's but both work and are understandable to anyone who has done a little high school geometry.

You will find both proofs in the book "Feynman's Lost Lecture".

Answer 5

All orbits are elliptical. There are some near a circle but if u measure it ,it is elliptical.