A to Z Formula

What is the formula for Orbital period?

The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit around another object. It is applicable in astronomy.

The orbital period T (in seconds) of two bodies orbiting each other in a circular or elliptic orbit is given as,


Where,

μ = G × M

G is the gravitational constant,

M is the mass of the more massive body.

a = the orbit’s semi-major axis in meters

μ = the standard gravitational parameter in m3/s2