Physical Sciences Quarter 2 – Module 3: Modern Astronomy

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. discuss the notable contributions of some of the notable astronomers of modern astronomy;
2. describe the relationship of Brahe and Kepler to the discovery of planetary motion; and
3. realize the importance of the laws of planetary motion.

Lecture:
Some Astronomical Terms for Students
 astronomical unit (AU) - the unit of length defined as the average distance between Earth and the
Sun; this distance is about 1.5 × 108 kilometers or 1.5 x 1011 metres
 eccentricity - in an ellipse, the ratio of the distance between the foci to the major axis
 ellipse - a closed curve for which the sum of the distances from any point on the ellipse to two
points inside (called the foci) is always the same
 focus (plural: foci) - one of two fixed points inside an ellipse from which the sum of the distances
to any point on the ellipse is constant
 Kepler’s first law - each planet moves around the Sun in an orbit that is an ellipse, with the Sun at
one focus of the ellipse
 Kepler’s second law - the straight line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in space
in equal intervals of time
 Kepler’s third law - the square of a planet’s orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of the
semimajor axis of its orbit
 major axis - the maximum diameter of an ellipse
 orbit - the path of an object that is in revolution about another object or point
 orbital period (P) the time it takes an object to travel once around the Sun orbital speed the speed
at which an object (usually a planet) orbits around the mass of another object; in the case of a
planet, the speed at which each planet moves along its ellipse
 semimajor axis - half of the major axis of a conic section, such as an ellipse

Tycho Brahe

• Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer and nobleman who made accurate observations of the
movement of celestial bodies in an observatory built for him by King Frederick II of Denmark in 1576. He
was able to invent different astronomical instruments, with the help of his assistants, and made an
extensive study of the solar system. He was able to determine the position of 777 fixed stars accurately.
Johannes Kepler

• When King Frederick II died, and the successor did not fully support Brahe’s
work, he moved to Prague in 1599 where he was supported by Emperor Rudolf II
and worked as an imperial mathematician. Emperor Rudolf II recommended
Johannes Kepler to work for him as an assistant. Kepler was born to a poor German
family and studied as a scholar at the University of Tübingen in 1589.

Brahe and Kepler's Work

 Brahe and Kepler had an unsteady working relationship. Kepler was Brahe's assistant. However,
Brahe mistrusted Kepler with his astronomical data in fear of being shadowed by his assistant.
 Brahe assigned to Kepler the interpretation of his observations of Mars, whose movement did not
match Brahe’s calculations. Kepler was tasked to figure out what path Mars followed as it
revolved around the Sun. It was believed by many scientists that Brahe gave this task to Kepler
to keep him occupied and left Brahe to develop his laws of planetary motion

Kepler's Discoveries from Brahe's Data

Kepler postulated that there must be a force from the Sun that moves the planets. He was able to
conclude that this force would explain the orbit of Mars and the Earth, including all the other planets,
moved fastest when it is nearest from the Sun and moved slowest when it is farthest from the Sun.
Eventually, Brahe decided to give all his data to Kepler hoping that he would be able to prove his Tychonic
system and put together new tables of astronomical data. This table was known as Rudolphine Tables,
named after the Roman emperor and was useful in determining the positions of the planets for the past
1000 years and the future 1000 years. This table was the most accurate table that is known to the
astronomical world. After Brahe died in 1601, Emperor Rudolf II assigned Kepler as the new
imperial mathematician, and all of Brahe’s writings, instruments, and the Rudolphine tables were passed on
to him. From Brahe’s data, Kepler was able to formulate his laws of planetary motion: the law of
ellipses, the law of equal areas, and the law of harmonies

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

First Law - The Law of Ellipses
When Kepler tried to figure out Mars’ orbit, it did not fit the then-famous theory that a planet
follows a circular path. He then postulated that instead of a circular path, planets follow an oval or an
ellipse orbit.
 This orbit matched his calculations and explained the “irregularities” in the movement of
Mars. He was able to formulate his first law of planetary motion, the law of ellipses which describes that
the actual path followed by the planets was elliptical, not circular, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.

Second Law - The Law of Equal Areas

The second law, which is the law of equal areas states that when an imaginary line is drawn from
the center of the Sun to the center of a planet, the line will sweep out an equal area of space in equal time
intervals.

The law describes how fast a planet moves in its orbit. A planet moves fastest when it is nearest the
Sun and slowest when it is farthest from the Sun, and still, the same area is swept out by the line in equal
amounts of time.

Third Law - The Law of Harmonies

The law of harmonies, which is the third law, describes that the square of a planet’s orbital period (T2) is
proportional to the cube of a planet’s average distance from the Sun (R3). It states that that the ratio of the
squares of the periods of two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of the average distances of these two
planets from the Sun or:
ACTIVITY 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. ___________________ was a Danish astronomer and nobleman who made accurate observations
of the movement of celestial bodies.
2. ___________________ was a German astronomer and mathematician who worked as an
assistant to Brahe and formulated the three laws of planetary motion based on Brahe’s extensive
astronomical data.
3. ____________________ states that planets follow an elliptical orbit.
4_____________________ states that when an imaginary line is drawn from the center of a planet
to the center of the Sun, an equal amount of space is swept in equal amount of time.
5. __________________ states that the ratio of the squares of the period of two planets is equal to
the ratio of the cubes of the planets’ average distance from the Sun.
Module 4:
The Aristotelian and Galilean Conceptions of Vertical Motion, Horizontal Motion, and Projectile Motion

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. describe the Aristotelian concepts of vertical motion, horizontal motion, and projectile motion;
2. describe the concepts of vertical motion, horizontal motion, and projectile motion according to
Galileo; and
3. compare and contrast the Aristotelian and Galilean conceptions of vertical motion, horizontal
motion, and projectile motion.

Activity 1.1

The timeline below shows the different personalities involved in the Ancient Greek Astronomy and during
the time of Galileo and Isaac Newton.

Activity 1.1 Guide Questions:

1. Who were the Ancient Greek Astronomers who studied the motion of heavenly bodies from
Aristotle to the year 200 AD?
2. Who were those Astronomers who made contributions to the study of heavenly bodies from 1400 to
the time of Galileo Galilei?
3. Do you think that our current understanding on the physics of motion happened overnight? Support your
answer.
4. What do think were the bases of the different astronomers or natural philosophers in their
explanations of motion?
Aristotle’s Concept of Vertical Motion, Horizontal Motion, and Projectile Motion
1. Vertical Motion Vertical motion is referred to as natural motion. In a natural motion, the object
will move and will return to its natural state based on the object's material or composition - earth,
water, air, and fire.

 For example, Aristotle believed that because a ball fell when thrown upward, its
element was earth.
 Smoke goes up the air because it seeks its natural place in the atmosphere.
 Aristotelian concept of natural motion is largely vertical motion which is falling or
rising.

2. Horizontal Motion

An object moving in a violent motion requires push or pull to maintain horizontal motion. Motion
continues only so long as there is an applied force to an object. When the force is removed, motion
stops.
 The example at the right shows piled boxes of food donations.
The boxes will remain on the floor unless a push or a pull force is applied.
 Violent motion is imposed motion caused by pushing or pulling.
 Aristotle classified any motion that required a force as a "violent motion".
(He did not mean violent in the sense that it is marked by the use of harmful
or destructive physical force.)

3. Projectile Motion

Aristotle believed that the projectile motion of an object is parallel to the ground until it is
the object's time to fall back into the ground. An impetus will be kept by the object until such time
that the initial force is forgotten, and the object returns to its natural state to stop moving and fall to
the ground.
He viewed projectile motion as natural and violent motion. He said that heavy objects fall
faster than light ones.

The illustration shows an example of cannon fired which gives the cannonball an impetus.

A notorious problem for the Aristotelian view was why arrows shot from a bow continued to fly
through the air after they had left the bow and the string was no longer applying force to them.
 Aristotle's Explanation:

 Initial motive force transfers to the medium initially surrounding the object a "power" to act as a
motive force

 Medium then forces object into new region, which is then imparted with the "power" to act.

2. Horizontal Motion

An object in motion, if unimpeded, will continue to be in motion, and an external force is

not necessary to maintain the motion. If the Earth’s surface is very flat and extended infinitely,
objects that are pushed will not be impeded. Thus, the objects will continue to move. This kind
of motion, however, is not evident in nature.
 For example, if a ball is pushed on an infinitely flat plane, the ball will continue to roll if
unimpeded.

4. Projectile Motion
Galileo performed experiments on uniformly accelerated motion using an inclined plane, and
used the same apparatus to study projectile motion.

 Galileo was credited for quantifying the “rate of fall” by measurement of distance and time and
plotting it graphically. He was able to slow down the “fall” using ramps rather than viscous
materials as Aristotle did resulting to significantly different conclusions related to the “rate of fall”.
 He correctly measured motion in two independent directions (horizontal and vertical) and
deduced that the “rate of fall” is better measured in terms of downward acceleration.
 He used geometry to provide better description (kinematics) of projectile motion whereby
horizontal motion has zero acceleration (constant speed horizontally) and content vertical
acceleration.
 By varying the ball's horizontal velocity and vertical drop, Galileo was able to determine that the
path of a projectile is parabolic.
 He believed that a projectile is a combination of uniform motion in the horizontal direction and
uniformly accelerated motion in the vertical direction. If it is not impeded, it will continue to move
even without an applied force.
 For example, when you shoot a ball in a basketball ring, the ball does not need a force to keep it
moving.
Activity 1.2 Mini Lab: Aristotle or Galileo?
Test the following activities below. Take note that in every activity, both objects should be dropped at the
same time and at the same height. (In choosing the height, be sure that you are safe).
1. Drop a book and a flat sheet of paper.
2. Drop a book and a sheet of paper crumpled to a ball.
3. Drop a book with a small flat sheet of paper on top of it.

Activity 1.2 Guide Questions

1. In all three cases, which object reaches the ground first?
2. In activity 1, what causes the flat sheet of paper to move sideways?
3. In activities 2 and 3, why did the objects fall at the same rate regardless of their masses?
4. Whose view is more acceptable? Why?