The conversation between human and AI assistant.
Why are planetary orbits ellipses?
I'm curious about why planetary orbits are ellipses. Can you explain that to me?
Sure thing! Planetary orbits are ellipses because of the gravitational force between the planet and the star it orbits around. The planet moves in such a way that its acceleration is always directed towards the star, but because the gravitational field is not uniform, the planet is not moving at a constant speed. This results in an elliptical orbit.