Greg Neill wrote:

"Martin Lewicki" wrote in message
...

snip

So for a
semimajor axis = 2
eccentricity = 0.5

semiminor axis = 1.73205....


Easier just to write "sqrt3".

and distance of object (focus 1) from perihelion (q) is
a*(1-e)
= 1

Correct?

Looks good. And don't forget, the aphelion radius is
a*(1+e)
= 3 units

And by way of a 'reality check', you can verify that the sum of the
apoapsis and periapsis distances is equal to 2a, the length of the
major axis: here 3 + 1 = 4 = 2*2.

--
Odysseus