diff --git a/website/cosmos/astrophysics/keplers-law.mdx b/website/cosmos/astrophysics/keplers-law.mdx new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c97acf5c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/website/cosmos/astrophysics/keplers-law.mdx @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +--- +title: Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion +description: Understanding Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion +--- + +# Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion + +Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer who discovered three important rules about how planets move around the Sun. These are called **Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion**. + +## The Law of Orbits + +This law says: + +> **Planets move in an oval-shaped path called an ellipse, with the Sun at one end.** + +Most people think orbits are perfect circles, but they are actually slightly stretched out. + +![Orbit Shape](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Circular_orbit_of_planet_with_%28eccentricty_of_0.0%29.gif) + + +## The Law of Areas + +This law says: + +> **A line between a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.** + +This means a planet moves faster when it's closer to the Sun and slower when it's farther away. + +Think of it like this: if you draw a triangle from the planet to the Sun over a set time, the area of that triangle will always be the same, even if the shape looks different. + +## The Law of Periods + +This law connects how long a planet takes to go around the Sun with how far away it is. + +The equation is: + +$$ +T^2 = a^3 +$$ + +Where: + +- \( T \) is the time (in years) it takes to orbit the Sun once. +- \( a \) is the average distance from the Sun (in units called astronomical units or AU). + +This means that planets farther from the Sun take much longer to go around it. + + +## Summary + +Kepler's Laws help us understand how the planets move: + +1. Planets move in ellipses. +2. Planets move faster when closer to the Sun. +3. Farther planets take longer to orbit the Sun. + +These rules helped other scientists, like Isaac Newton, figure out even more about gravity and space.