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Here $a_p$ is the planet's semi-major axis, while $a,e,I$ are the particle's semi-major axis, orbital eccentricity, and orbital inclination relative to the planet's plane. The formula assumes the circular restricted three-body problem: the planet-to-star mass ratio is small, the particle has negligible mass, and its motion is approximately heliocentric and Keplerian away from brief encounters. The planet's own orbit is circular.

The Jacobi constant is exactly conserved in that ideal rotating problem. Expressing it in heliocentric orbital elements away from the planet gives the approximately conserved Tisserand parameterThe first term measures the particle's normalized binding energy. The second is twice the component of its specific angular momentum normal to the planet's plane, normalized by $\sqrt{G{M}_{\ast }{a}_p}$.

For a Kepler orbit with pericentre distance $q$, apocentre distance $Q$, and semi-major axis $a=(q+Q)/2$, a uniform mean anomaly givesThe two radial passages per orbital period are included, and ${\int }_q^Q{p}_r(r)dr=1$.

A circumplanetary orbit whose orbital period equals the central planet's spin period. Its semi-major axis follows from Kepler's third law. Matching periods alone does not fix the satellite above one ground location; that additionally requires a planet-stationary orbit.

The orbit-averaged Poynting–Robertson drag equations preserve $C=a(1-e^2)e^{-4/5}$ for $0<e<1$. This relates shrinking semi-major axis to decreasing orbital eccentricity; a circular orbit is treated by its separate limiting solution.

For a common semi-major axis $a$ and proper eccentricity $e_p$, randomly distributed proper longitudes of periapsis give an annulus of radii $a(1-e_p)$ and $a(1+e_p)$ about the point displaced from the star by minus $a$ times the forced eccentricity vector, to first order in orbital eccentricity.

A grain with radiation-pressure coefficient $\beta <1$ feels effective central gravitational parameter $G{M}_{\star }(1-\beta )$. Combining its mean motion with the planet's mean motion at an exterior-type $(j+1):j$ frequency commensurability gives the displayed semi-major axis. The commensurability lies geometrically exterior only for $j<\sqrt{1-\beta }/(1-\sqrt{1-\beta })$. Radiation changes the grain's attraction, so the same frequency ratio need not imply the usual radial ordering.

The nominal semi-major axis of an exterior $(p+q):p$ mean-motion resonance follows from $(p+q)n_r=p{n}_p$ and Kepler's third law. Apsidal precession displaces the actual libration center because stationarity of the resonant argument requires $(p+q)n-p{n}_p-q\dot{\varpi }=0$.

For an instantaneous in-plane change of velocity of magnitude $\gamma v_K$ on a circular orbit, with angle $\theta$ measured from the forward tangential direction, the new specific orbital energy gives $a^{\prime }/a=(1-2\gamma \cos \theta -{\gamma }^2{)}^{-1}$. The specific angular momentum gives $e^{\prime 2}=1-(1-2\gamma \cos \theta -{\gamma }^2)(1+\gamma \cos \theta {)}^2$. The signed semi-major axis becomes negative for an unbound hyperbolic Kepler orbit.

For a Kepler orbit with semi-major axis $a$, the vis-viva equation isFor the convention that a hyperbolic Kepler orbit has positive semi-major-axis magnitude $a$, its final term instead has a plus sign.

Anisotropic thermal radiation produces recoil that changes the semi-major axis of a rotating solid body. Finite thermal inertia provides the temperature lag. Large bodies have small acceleration per unit mass, while very small bodies become nearly isothermal. The Yarkovsky effect can supply bodies to dynamical escape regions.