In orbital mechanics, the eccentricity of an orbit is a measure of how much it deviates from being circular. The eccentricity \( e \) can take values ranging from 0 to 1:
- An eccentricity of 0 corresponds to a perfectly circular orbit.
- An eccentricity between 0 and 1 corresponds to an elliptical orbit (with increasing eccentricity indicating a more elongated shape).
- An eccentricity of 1 corresponds to a parabolic trajectory.
- An eccentricity greater than 1 corresponds to a hyperbolic trajectory.
Therefore, the least eccentric orbit is a circular orbit, which has an eccentricity of 0.
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