Argument of Pericenter

The Argument of Pericenter of an object's orbit is the angle between the orbit's ascending node (the point where the object crosses from below the reference plane to above the reference plane) and the orbit's pericenter (the point where the object is at its closest distance to its Orbital Parent). In Universe Sandbox, the reference plane is the x-z plane of the Simulation Grid.

For an object on circular orbit (with an Eccentricity of zero), the Argument of Pericenter is undefined and the property will be read-only. The Argument of Pericenter is also known as the argument of periapsis.

Argument of Pericenter is one of six orbital elements that describe an object's orbit.

Location
The Argument of Pericenter property is located in the Orbital Elements section of the Motion tab of an object's properties panel, if that object has an Orbital Parent.

Units
Argument of Pericenter is an angle, and can be viewed or edited using the following units:


 * Radians (rad)
 * Degrees (°) = (180/π) rad

Argument of Pericenter is defined in the range 0-360°, or 0-2π rad.