What happens to the actual path a planet takes due to the minor gravitational tugs from other planets?
Answer
It is a slightly perturbed, or wobbly, orbit
Because the solar system is not a sterile two-body environment, every planet tugs on every other planet, causing the actual path to deviate slightly from the ideal Keplerian ellipse. This phenomenon is known as orbital perturbation.
Related Questions
What is the specific scientific designation for the curved line traced by a planet as it moves around a star?While often visualized as perfect circles, what is the true shape of most planetary paths around a star?Where is the star located when considering a planet's elliptical orbit?What single, universal interaction determines the entire path a planet follows in space?Which Kepler's Law describes the mathematical relationship where the square of a planet's period ($T$) is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis ($a$)?If a body’s orbit has an eccentricity value of zero, what is the shape of that path?What mathematical concept did Johannes Kepler revolutionize in the early 17th century regarding planetary motion?What is the term for the set of parameters defining the size, shape, and orientation of a specific orbit in space?Which orbital element is responsible for defining the *shape* of the path, specifically how much it deviates from a circle?What happens to the actual path a planet takes due to the minor gravitational tugs from other planets?What specific phenomenon causes a slow rotation of Mercury's elliptical path that cannot be fully explained by Newtonian gravity alone?