Question
-Unearthing Mars, Student Answer Packet? 2. Describe how the location and motions of the planets in our solar system are governed by each of Kepler's Three Laws. __ Law 2:underline ( ) __ __
Solution
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Liam
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Answer
**Kepler's Three Laws and the Solar System**Here's how the location and motions of the planets in our solar system are governed by Kepler's Three Laws:* **Law 1: The Law of Ellipses:** The orbit of each planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. This describes the *shape* of a planet's orbit. It's not a perfect circle, but slightly elongated. The location of the Sun at one focus means the planet's distance from the Sun varies throughout its orbit.* **Law 2: The Law of Equal Areas:** A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. This law describes the *speed* at which a planet travels in its orbit. When a planet is closer to the Sun, it moves faster, and when it's farther away, it moves slower. This is because the gravitational force between the planet and the Sun is stronger when they are closer together.* **Law 3: The Law of Harmonies:** The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. This law relates the *time* it takes a planet to orbit the Sun (its period) to the *size* of its orbit (its semi-major axis, which is half the longest diameter of the ellipse). Planets farther from the Sun have longer orbital periods and larger orbits.