Gravity

Newton’s Law of Gravitation

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary
Motion
Gravitational Fields
Adapted from https://www.slideshare.net › apwazap777 › chap8-16224540
 Early Astronomers
In the 2nd century AD the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy put forth a
theory that Earth is stationary and at the center of the universe and that
the sun, moon, and planets revolve around it. Though incorrect, it was
accepted for centuries.
In the early 1500’s the Polish astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus boldly rejected Ptolemy’s geocentric model
for a heliocentric one. His theory put the sun stated that
the planets revolve around the sun in circular orbits and
that Earth rotates daily on its axis.
In the late 1500’s the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe
made better measurements of the planets and stars than
anyone before him. The telescope had yet to be
invented. He believed in a Ptolemaic-Copernican
hybrid model in which the planets revolve around the
sun, which in turn revolves around the Earth.
 Early Astronomers
Both Galileo and Kepler contributed greatly to work of the English
scientist Sir Isaac Newton a generation later.
In the late 1500’s and early 1600’s the Italian scientist
Galileo was one of the very few people to advocate the
Copernican view, for which the Church eventually had
him placed under house arrest. After hearing about the
invention of a spyglass in Holland, Galileo made a
telescope and discovered four moons of Jupiter, craters
on the moon, and the phases of Venus.
The German astronomer Johannes Kepler was a
contemporary of Galileo and an assistant to Tycho
Brahe. Like Galileo, Kepler believed in the heliocentric
system of Copernicus, but using Brahe’s planetary data
he deduced that the planets move in ellipses rather than
circles. This is the first of three planetary laws that
Kepler formulated based on Brahe’s data.
 Kepler’s Laws of
Planetary Motion
Here is a summary of Kepler’s 3 Laws:

1. Planets move around the sun in elliptical paths with the

sun at one focus of the ellipse.
2. While orbiting, a planet sweep out equal areas in equal
times.
3. The square of a planet’s period (revolution time) is
proportional to the cube of its mean distance from the sun:

T 2 ∝ R3
These laws apply to any satellite orbiting a much
larger body.
Primer on ellipses
 Kepler’s First Law
Planets move around the sun in elliptical paths with the
sun at one focus of the ellipse.

F1
F2
Sun
P
Planet
An ellipse has two foci, F1 and F2. For any point P on the ellipse,
F1 P + F2 P is a constant. The orbits of the planets are nearly circular
(F1 and F2 are close together), but not perfect circles. A circle is an
ellipse with both foci at the same point--the center. Comets have very
eccentric (highly elliptical) orbits.
 Kepler’s Second Law (proven in advanced physics)
While orbiting, a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

Sun C

The blue shaded sector has the same area as the red shaded sector.
Thus, a planet moves from C to D in the same amount of time as it
moves from A to B. This means a planet must move faster when it’s
closer to the sun. For planets this effect is small, but for comets it’s
quite noticeable, since a comet’s orbit is has much greater eccentricity.
 Kepler’s Third Law
The square of a planet’s period is proportional to the
cube of its mean distance from the sun: T 2 ∝ R 3
Assuming that a planet’s orbit is circular (which is not exactly correct
but is a good approximation in most cases), then the mean distance
from the sun, the radius, is a constant. F is the force of gravity on the
planet. F is also the centripetal force. If the orbit is circular, the
planet’s speed is constant, and v = circumference/period = 2 π R /
T. Therefore, GMm m v2 m [2 π R / T] 2
= =
R2 R R
m Cancel m’s GM 4 π2 R
F Planet and simplify: =
R2 T2
M
Sun R 4 π2
Rearrange: T 2 = R3
GM
Since G, M, and π are constants, T 2 ∝ R 3.
 Third Law Analysis
4 π 2
We just derived T 2 = R3
GM
• It also shows that the orbital period depends on the mass of the
central body (which for a planet is its star) but not on the mass of the
orbiting body. In other words, if Mars had a companion planet the
same distance from the sun, it would have the same period as Mars,
regardless of its size.
• This shows that the farther away a planet is from its star, the longer it
takes to complete an orbit. Likewise, an artificial satellite circling
Earth from a great distance has a greater period than a satellite orbiting
closer. There are two reasons for this: 1. The farther away the satellite
is, the farther it must travel to complete an orbit; 2. The farther out its
orbit is, the slower it moves, as shown:
GMm m v2 GM
= ⇒ v =
R2 R R
 Third Law Example
One astronomical unit (AU) is the distance between Earth and the
sun (about 93 million miles). Jupiter is 5.2 AU from the sun. How
long is a Jovian year?
answer: Kepler’s 3rd Law says T 2 ∝ R 3, so T 2 = k R 3, where k is
the constant of proportionality. Thus, for Earth and Jupiter we have:
TE 2 = k RE 3 and TJ 2 = k RJ 3
k’s value does not matters; since both planets are orbiting the same
central body (the sun), k is the same in both equations. TE = 1 year,
and RJ / RE = 5.2, so dividing equations:

TJ 2 RJ 3
= ⇒ TJ 2 = (5.2) 3 ⇒ TJ = 11.9 years
TE 2
RE 3
continued on next slide
 Third Law Example (cont.)
What is Jupiter’s orbital speed?
answer: Since it’s orbital is approximately circular, and it’s speed
is approximately constant:
Jupiter is 5.2 AU from the sun (5.2
times farther than Earth is).
d 2 π (5.2) (93 · 106
miles) 1 year 1 day
v= = · ·
t 11.9 years 365 days 24 hours

≈ 29,000 mph. Jupiter’s period from last slide

This means Jupiter is cruising through the solar system at about

13,000 m/s ! Even at this great speed, though, Jupiter is so far away
that when we observe it from Earth, we don’t notice it’s motion.
Planets closer to the sun orbit even faster. Mercury, the closest
planet, is traveling at about 48,000 m/s !
 Third Law Practice Problem
Venus is about 0.723 AU from the sun, Mars
1.524 AU. Venus takes 224.7 days to circle the
sun. Figure out how long a Martian year is.

answer: 686 days