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Overview of Kepler's Laws definitions Flashcards

Overview of Kepler's Laws definitions
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  • Johannes Kepler
    A German astronomer who formulated three fundamental laws of planetary motion.
  • Ellipses
    Geometric shapes of orbits with two focal points, one of which is occupied by the sun.
  • Foci
    Two fixed points in an ellipse, one of which is occupied by the sun in planetary orbits.
  • Eccentricity
    A measure of how much an orbit deviates from being circular, ranging from 0 to 1.
  • Orbital Period
    The time taken for a celestial body to complete one full orbit around another body.
  • Orbital Radius
    The average distance from the center of an orbiting body to the center of the body it orbits.
  • Kepler's First Law
    States that all planetary orbits are elliptical with the sun at one focus.
  • Kepler's Second Law
    Describes how a line segment joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
  • Kepler's Third Law
    Establishes a proportional relationship between the square of the orbital period and the cube of the orbital radius.
  • Proportional Relationship
    A consistent ratio between two quantities, such as T^2 and R^3 in Kepler's Third Law.
  • Celestial Bodies
    Natural objects in space, such as planets, stars, and comets, that follow Kepler's laws.
  • Comets
    Celestial objects with highly elliptical orbits, often with eccentricities close to 1.
  • Mass
    A property of a celestial body that influences the constant ratio in Kepler's Third Law.
  • Constant Ratio
    The unchanging value of R^3/T^2 for planets orbiting the same star, dependent on the star's mass.
  • Solar System
    The collection of celestial bodies, including planets and comets, orbiting the sun.