Highly Elliptical Orbit of TWINS (IMAGE) NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Caption The highly elliptical orbit of TWINS offers a good view of the ring current -- a hula hoop of charged particles that encircles Earth. Credit J. Goldstein/SWRI Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.