Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
This final page focuses on Kepler's laws of planetary motion, which describe the motion of planets around the Sun.
Kepler's First Law LawofEllipses is stated:
Definition: All planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.
Kepler's Second Law LawofEqualAreas is explained:
Definition: A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.
This law implies that planets move faster when they are closer to the Sun and slower when they are farther away.
Kepler's Third Law LawofPeriods is presented:
Formula: T² ∝ R³, where T is the orbital period and R is the semi-major axis of the orbit.
The page provides examples of how to apply Kepler's Third Law to compare the orbital periods of different planets.
Example: To find the orbital period of a planet X given its distance from the Sun, use the formula: TX/TEarth² = RX/REarth³
The relationship between Kepler's laws and Newton's law of universal gravitation is briefly discussed, showing how these laws are derived from the more fundamental principles of gravitation.
Highlight: Kepler's laws are a consequence of the inverse square nature of the gravitational force and the conservation of angular momentum in planetary orbits.