X-Nico

unusual facts about Gravitationally aligned orbits


Gravitationally aligned orbits

From observations of the motions of over 20 000 local stars (within 300 parsecs), and using numerical simulation, Charles Francis and Erik Anderson have shown that, contrary to conventional wisdom, stars tend to move along a spiral arm during the inward part of their orbits, leaving the arm shortly after pericentre crossing the other arm on the outward part of the orbit and rejoining the original arm shortly before apocentre.



see also