The conversation between human and AI assistant.
Why the orbits of planets are elliptical and not circular?
Why doesn't the sun's gravity make the orbit circular?
The sun's gravity does cause the planets to move in a circular path, but other factors such as the gravitational pull of other planets, the shape of the planet's initial orbit, and even the shape of the planet itself can cause the orbit to become more elliptical over time. This is known as perturbation.