How Are Planetary Orbits Self-Correcting, or Self-Regulating?

[Seeking Science]

I'm wondering if anyone can explain to me how planetary orbits are self-correcting. Years ago, I read about them deviating from their paths, then correcting for these perturbations entirely on their own. Obviously this a natural part of them orbiting in elliptical patterns, but how do they correct for these deviations?

Having done many online searches for such information, I've come up with absolutely nothing.

[life station]

The conscience of planetary body does this as every thing in univetse has it

[Griffon]

Quark - I've not heard of what you describe. But a planet won't deviate from its normal orbit unless perturbed by another massive body. If that perturbation ceases then the planet will resume its normal albeit modified orbit. I wonder if you have in mind orbital resonances in which bodies have a periodic influence on one another which affect their orbits?

[Ophiolite]

@Seeking Science - I thinnk Griffon had probably correctly described what you were thinking about. The orbital characteristics of planets are quite complex. While they are dominated by the the sun the other planets, expecially Jupiter, do exert an influence on their orbits. This can produce resonances of the type Griffon refers to, or even induce chaotic effects in the very long term. They certainly cannot 'self correct' for changes to their orbit. This is for two reasons: firstly, Newton's First Law of Motion and secondly the term implies that there is some 'correct' orbit for the planet to follow.

[Enthalpy]

No self-regulation nor correction.

 

For instance Mercury's orbit rotates slowly - that is, its major axis changes its direction, as does its perihelion. This is a response to various perturbation, and to a minor extent, to a relativistic effect.

 

Comets that get diverted from their parent cloud don't go back there.

 

Spacecraft that humans send near Jupiter to exploit the powerful perturbation keep the new trajectory.

[Ophiolite]

Spacecraft that humans send near Jupiter to exploit the powerful perturbation keep the new trajectory.

And Jupiter turns infinitesimally slower as a consequence.

[Dekan]

Seeking Science's OP is interesting, when we consider that the Solar System seems obviously dead. It contains no life-bearing planets. Except for the Earth, which has life in abundance. But this is only on Earth.

 

Is life replicated anywhere else in the Solar System? We can speculate about life, 10 kilometres below the surface of the frozen satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. These satellites might have oceans of liquid water under the ice. With living cold organisms, like diatoms, paracetiums, shrimps, or giant slow-motion squids.

 

But this is just straw-clutching. Where's the evidence?

 

 

[swansont]

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Moderator Note

Let's stay on-topic, please, which is whether orbits are self-correcting.

[Airbrush]

 

I'm wondering if anyone can explain to me how planetary orbits are self-correcting. Years ago, I read about them deviating from their paths, then correcting for these perturbations entirely on their own. Obviously this a natural part of them orbiting in elliptical patterns, but how do they correct for these deviations?

Having done many online searches for such information, I've come up with absolutely nothing.

 

Planetary orbits are not self-correcting. What we have today is a total random outcome. There is life on Earth only because our solar system has such regular, nearly circular orbits for all the planets near us. However, Billions of years from now, our solar system could evolve to become more irregular and planets could collide.

Edited March 28, 2013 by Airbrush

[fertilizerspike]

 

I'm wondering if anyone can explain to me how planetary orbits are self-correcting. Years ago, I read about them deviating from their paths, then correcting for these perturbations entirely on their own. Obviously this a natural part of them orbiting in elliptical patterns, but how do they correct for these deviations?

Having done many online searches for such information, I've come up with absolutely nothing.

 

What you're talking about is known as the "three-body problem", which is still "unsolved" in the context of gravity models. Orbital systems with more than two bodies can not be stable according to gravity models. No attempts are really being made to solve this glaring issue, but, of course, there is known physics that explains it that is consistently ignored.

[Enthalpy]

... "three-body problem", which is still "unsolved"... Orbital systems with more than two bodies can not be stable according to gravity models. No attempts are really being made to solve this glaring issue, but, of course, there is known physics that explains it that is consistently ignored.

Poincaré only conjectured that three bodies made no stable orbits. Meanwhile many such systems have been observed so we know they're stable.

 

Find a newer book.

 

And, yes, many people work hard on this - even though you're not aware of. Because physicists are honest and open-minded, figure that.