Why do planets move in an elliptical orbit instead of a circular orbit?

Question

And how exactly did we find out how they move?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

You’ll get a lot of explanations here, but if you’re still confused, I would recommend getting Spaceflight simulator (mobile) or Kerbal Space Program (pc/console). You can also look up the KSP2 tutorials on YouTube. They do a really good job of explaining orbital mechanics