As an illustration, consider the orbital period and average distance from sun (orbital radius) for Earth and mars as given in the table below. The comparison being made is that the ratio of the squares of the periods to the cubes of their average distances from the sun is the same for every one of the planets. Unlike Kepler's first and second laws that describe the motion characteristics of a single planet, the third law makes a comparison between the motion characteristics of different planets. Kepler's third law - sometimes referred to as the law of harmonies - compares the orbital period and radius of orbit of a planet to those of other planets. Since the base of these triangles are shortest when the earth is farthest from the sun, the earth would have to be moving more slowly in order for this imaginary area to be the same size as when the earth is closest to the sun. As can be observed in the diagram, the areas formed when the earth is closest to the sun can be approximated as a wide but short triangle whereas the areas formed when the earth is farthest from the sun can be approximated as a narrow but long triangle. For instance, if an imaginary line were drawn from the earth to the sun, then the area swept out by the line in every 31-day month would be the same. Yet, if an imaginary line were drawn from the center of the planet to the center of the sun, that line would sweep out the same area in equal periods of time. A planet moves fastest when it is closest to the sun and slowest when it is furthest from the sun. The speed at which any planet moves through space is constantly changing. Kepler's second law - sometimes referred to as the law of equal areas - describes the speed at which any given planet will move while orbiting the sun. Kepler's first law is rather simple - all planets orbit the sun in a path that resembles an ellipse, with the sun being located at one of the foci of that ellipse. In fact, a circle is the special case of an ellipse in which the two foci are at the same location. The closer together that these points are, the more closely that the ellipse resembles the shape of a circle. The two other points (represented here by the tack locations) are known as the foci of the ellipse. An ellipse is a special curve in which the sum of the distances from every point on the curve to two other points is a constant. Then begin to trace out a path with the pencil, keeping the string wrapped tightly around the tacks. Take your pencil and pull the string until the pencil and two tacks make a triangle (see diagram at the right). Then tie the string into a loop and wrap the loop around the two tacks. Tack the sheet of paper to the cardboard using the two tacks. An ellipse can easily be constructed using a pencil, two tacks, a string, a sheet of paper and a piece of cardboard. Kepler's first law - sometimes referred to as the law of ellipses - explains that planets are orbiting the sun in a path described as an ellipse.
0 kommentar(er)
