Keplerian Elements have nothing to do with the Earth. To say it only applies to earth orbiting objects would be like saying Newton's laws of motion only apply to the earth.
They are mathematical descriptions of the motion of one body orbiting another in an unperturbed orbit using the 6 degrees of freedom of the orbiting body - i.e the 6 key elements of the keps. They predate computers and software; circa 1605. This not to say that they are universally applicable. Larger or smaller as in galactic or subatomic with perturbed orbits - all bets are off. _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
