Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 316 1 i Solution 2026-09-25
Put the star at the origin, take along the line of sight toward the observer, and let point North in the plane of the sky. The direction is then anticlockwise from North. Draw the ascending node on the sky plane at position angle , tilt the circular Kepler orbit through the orbital inclination about that nodal line, and place the planet an angle along the orbit from the ascending node. The direction of increasing must cross the sky plane toward at .