True anomaly - circular orbit



For circular orbits the true anomaly is undefined, because circular orbits do not have a uniquely determined periapsis. Instead the argument of latitude u is used if rz< 0 (the z-component of the orbital position vector r), then replace u by 2π − u

Related formulas


uArgument of latitude (rad)
nA vector pointing towards the ascending node (i.e. the z-component of n is zero). (dimensionless)
rorbital position vector (m)