What happens to the focal distance if the eccentricity of an ellipse increases what is its shape?
If the eccentricity increases, the separation between the foci of an ellipse increases proportionately and the shape gets more elongated. However, since the maximum eccentricity of an ellipse is just short of 1, the maximum separation of the foci is just short of 2a. In general, the separation between the foci of an ellipse is equal to 2ae.
