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Kepler
Kepler
JOHANNES KEPLER
Perihelion Aphelion
Semi-major axis
Perihelion: When Mars or any another planet
is closest to the sun.
Aphelion: When Mars or any other planet is
farthest from the sun.
Kepler also found that Mars changed
speed as it orbited around the sun:
faster when closer to the sun, slower
when farther from the sun…
But, areas A and B,
A B swept out by a line
from the sun to
Mars, were equal
over the same
amount of time.
SECOND LAW OF PLANETARY
MOTION
Kepler found a T1
relationship between the R1
time it took a planet to
go completely around
the sun (T, sidereal
year), and the average T2
distance from the sun
(R, semi-major axis)…
R2
T1 2 R1 3 T2=TxT
= ( R3 = R x R x R )
T2 2 R2 3
THIRD LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
T2 Earth’s sidereal year (T)
and distance (R) both
equal 1. The average
R2 distance from the Earth
to the sun (R) is called 1
astronomical unit (AU).
Kepler’s Third Law, then, changes to
T1 2 R1 3 T1 2 R1 3 2 = R 3
= or = or T1 1
T2 2 R2 3 1 1
When we compare the orbits
of the planets…
Planet T(yrs) R(au) T2 R3
Venus 0.62 0.72 0.38 0.37
Earth 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Mars 1.88 1.52 3.53 3.51
Jupiter 11.86 5.20 141 141