How to find orbital path of planets.?

Question

How to find orbital path of planets.?

Answer 1

I use Dance of the Planets

It's an older DOS program but it's still good.

You can download it here:

http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?i...

I run it in DOSBox (a DOS emulator) on my Windows XP machine.

Download DOSBox here:

http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=...

Answer 2

Use the method of Gauss for determining the orbital elements from three observations of the planet's right ascension and declination near the time of opposition with the sun, with the moments of observation being separated in time by a few days, weeks, or months (depending on which planet you're dealing with).

Here's the page that gives the method, along with a worked example problem. I wrote it, so you know it's good.

http://jenab6.livejournal.com/12572.html

Answer 3

Gauss's method, or anything like that, assumes that the orbits are eclipses.  Since they are not, it's not very accurate.  I use the JPL DE405 or DE406 ephemeris, it's pretty much the standard for most professional work.  You can also use the JPL Horizon web site (link below), for the orbits of natural satellites and a lot of space probes.