Meanings
plural rectilinear orbits
- A theoretical type of orbit which goes in a straight-line, up and down; with 100% orbital eccentricity (eccentricity=1.0); the orbital path passing through the center-of-mass of the primary mass being orbited; having an periapsis at 0, and two apoapsides, as both arms going out from the periastron are equidistant; where the orbital ellipse has zero width semi-minor axis/minor axis, and the path of the ellipse is the same as the major axis.
Synonyms: rectilineal orbit
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA theoretical type of orbit which goes in a straight-line, up and down; with 100% orbital eccentricity (eccentricity=1.0); the orbital path passing through the center-of-mass of the primary mass being orbited; having an periapsis at 0, and two apoapsides, as both arms going out from the periastron are equidistant; where the orbital ellipse has zero width semi-minor axis/minor axis, and the path of the ellipse is the same as the major axis.
Cite this entry
rectilinear orbit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectilinear%20orbit
“rectilinear orbit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectilinear%20orbit. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rectilinear orbit,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectilinear%20orbit.
Source: rectilinear orbit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.