retrograde orbit
Counter-rotational celestial path
A retrograde orbit moves in the opposite direction to the primary body's rotation—clockwise when viewed from above the north pole, against the usual counterclockwise flow of most solar system objects.
Several moons of Jupiter and Saturn follow retrograde orbits, suggesting they were captured asteroids rather than formed in place.
The satellite was placed in a retrograde orbit to maximize coverage.
- TritonSea deity with conch
- inclinationDisposition toward something
- tidal forcesDifferential gravitational pull across bodies
- gravitational pullAttractive force between masses
- perturbationState of being unsettled
irregular · outer planets · barycenter · capture · Halley's Comet · Phoebe · precession · angular momentum · eccentricity · asteroid · moon · satellite · solar system · gravitational · trajectory · wobble · decay · cosmic