Rosetta (orbit)
Encyclopedia
A Rosetta orbit is a complex type of orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...

. Theoretically, an object approaching a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...

 with an intermediate velocity (not slow enough to spiral into the hole and not fast enough to escape) will enter a complex orbit pattern, bounded by a near and far distance to the hole and tracing an oscillating pattern known as a hypotrochoid
Hypotrochoid
A hypotrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the inside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the interior circle....

.

In quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...

, the Rosetta orbit is a solution for spherically symmetric but not 1/r potentials.
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