Orbital period

The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit around another object. The year and month are orbital periods.

When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars. Other periods include the synodic period, which is the interval between conjunctions.

Orbital Period Media

• 

  The semi-major axis (a) and semi-minor axis (b) of an ellipse