Background
There are three laws that were formulated by Johannes Kepler that are used in studying the solar system (Hasan, 2005) . The laws also can help to identify locations of planets in the sky. The three laws are:
First law: all planets move in elliptical orbits/paths around the sun and the sun is at one end of the ellipse.
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Second law: the speed is inversely proportional to the range from the sun.
Third law: C = a 3 /p 2 where C is the mass of the about which a planet is revolving, a is the mean radius of the path of the planet and p is the period of the path of the planet.
Objective
The main objective is to verify Kepler’s laws. Other objectives include interacting with Stellarium to study space and to understand the solar system.
Hypothesis
Planets that are closer to the sun revolve faster than those that are away from the sun.
Kepler’s laws provide a proposition that is reliable.
Results
The visible planets in the order of increasing distance from the sun
|
average distance (a) |
||||
|
Planet |
Period (p) |
= (perihelion + aphelion) / 2 |
p 2 |
a 3 |
| Mercury | 0.23 | 0.39 | 0.0576 | 0.059 |
| Venus | 0.59 | 0.72 | 0.3794 | 0.373 |
| Earth | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| Mars | 1.89 | 1.50 | 3.5440 | 3.512 |
| Jupiter | 10.89 | 4.99 | 139.9596 | 140.608 |
| Saturn | 28.96 | 10.01 | 866.8916 | 868.251 |
| Uranus | 83.96 | 18.98 | 7057.680 | 7055.793 |
| Neptune | 165.80 | 29.98 | 27159.04 | 27162.32 |
Conclusion
The Stellarium values obtained are consistent with Kepler’s laws. It is true that objects closer to the sun have a higher eccentricity and move faster about the sun thus shorter time. When Eckne is close to the sun it is seen to move faster contrary to when its far away. Stellarium is a robust tool for understanding the solar system as well as verifying Kepler’s laws. The software is simple yet informative. It is unquestionable that the Kepler’s laws hold. Mercury orbit is egg-shaped. This is established when measuring the perihelion and aphelion. Lastly, the sun is at the exact centre of the orbit of Mercury.
References
Hasan, H. (2005). Kepler and the laws of planetary motion . New York: Rosen Pub. Group.
Make Up Lab: Kepler's First Law and the Orbit of Mars | PHYS 1401: Descriptive Astronomy . (2017). Faculty.uca.edu . Retrieved 9 July 2019, from http://faculty.uca.edu/njaustin/PHYS1401/Laboratory/kepler.html
