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Motions of Planets and Satellites

Johannes Kepler derived three laws of planetary motion through his lifelong study of bodies in the solar system and data compiled by Tycho Brahe: 1) planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus, 2) a line joining a planet to the sun sweeps equal areas in equal times, and 3) the square of a planet's period is proportional to the cube of its mean distance from the sun. Newton later used Kepler's laws as the basis for his theory of universal gravitation. Kepler also pointed out that considering circular orbits can teach about planetary motion and his laws apply equally to satellite motion around planets.

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52 views1 page

Motions of Planets and Satellites

Johannes Kepler derived three laws of planetary motion through his lifelong study of bodies in the solar system and data compiled by Tycho Brahe: 1) planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus, 2) a line joining a planet to the sun sweeps equal areas in equal times, and 3) the square of a planet's period is proportional to the cube of its mean distance from the sun. Newton later used Kepler's laws as the basis for his theory of universal gravitation. Kepler also pointed out that considering circular orbits can teach about planetary motion and his laws apply equally to satellite motion around planets.

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Motions of Planets and Satellites

Through a lifelong study of the motions of bodies in the solar system,


Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was able to derive three basic laws known
as Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Using the data compiled by his mentor
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), Kepler found the following regularities after years
of laborious calculations:
1. All planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus.
2. A line joining any planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal
times.
3. The square of the period of any planet about the sun is proportional to
the cube of the planet's mean distance from the sun.
These laws can be deduced from Newton's laws of motion and law of
universal gravitation. Indeed, Newton used Kepler's work as basic
information in the formulation of his gravitational theory.
As Kepler pointed out, all planets move in elliptical orbits, however, we can
learn much about planetary motion by considering the special case of
circular orbits. We shall neglect the forces between planets, considering only
a planet's interaction with the sun. These considerations apply equally well
to the motion of a satellite about a planet.

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