The Kozai Effect Can Tilt Orbits

Gravity can make orbits flip dramatically.

A distant massive object can cause high-inclination oscillations in a smaller body’s orbit, sometimes flipping it upside-down temporarily.

Why This Matters

This effect explains unusual orbits of asteroids and exoplanets.

It helps predict orbital stability in multi-body systems like binary stars.

Did You Know?

Some highly tilted asteroids owe their orbits to the Kozai effect.

Source

[European Space Agency, esa.int]

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