Orbits and Kepler’s Laws

9 Min Read

Orbits and Kepler’s Laws

An illustration of our solar system.

Credits:
NASA/JPL

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

The story of how we understand planetary motion could not be told if it were not for the work of a German mathematician named Johannes Kepler. 

Kepler’s three laws describe how planets orbit the Sun. They describe how (1) planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun as a focus...