Eli5, Why are planets orbits elliptical and not circular?

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Why, when the planet is accelerated during the ‘close phase’ of its orbit, isn’t it then flung away? I get that gravity pulls/holds it in orbit but why hasn’t it flattened out into a spherical orbit?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Probably similar to why rectangles are more common than squares. Or is that overly simplified?

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