Example

Example: Finding the Equation of Pluto's Elliptical Orbit

Pluto moves in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. The closest Pluto gets to the Sun is approximately 3030 astronomical units (AU) and the furthest is approximately 5050 AU. By placing the center of the orbit at the origin of a coordinate system, the graph shows vertices at (40,0)(-40, 0) and (40,0)(40, 0), so a=40a = 40 and a2=1600a^2 = 1600. The Sun is located at a focus at the point (10,0)(10, 0), meaning the focal distance is c=10c = 10. To find the denominator for the y2y^2 term, use the relationship b2=a2c2b^2 = a^2 - c^2. Substituting the known values gives b2=402102=1600100=1500b^2 = 40^2 - 10^2 = 1600 - 100 = 1500. Substituting a2a^2 and b2b^2 into the standard form equation for an ellipse centered at the origin gives the final equation: x21600+y21500=1\frac{x^2}{1600} + \frac{y^2}{1500} = 1.

Image 0

0

1

Updated 2026-05-25

Contributors are:

Who are from:

Tags

OpenStax

Intermediate Algebra @ OpenStax

Ch.11 Conics - Intermediate Algebra @ OpenStax

Algebra

Related
Learn After