Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion and the behavior of celestial orbits.

Kepler's First Law

Planets revolve around the Sun in an elliptical orbit with the Sun at one focus.

Perihelion

The point in an orbit where a planet is closest to the Sun.

Aphelion

The point in an orbit where a planet is farthest from the Sun.

Eccentricity

A measure of how much an orbit deviates from a perfect circle.

Kepler's Second Law

Planets sweep out equal areas in equal times; they move faster when closer to the Sun.

Kepler's Third Law

The square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the Sun.

Orbital Period

The time it takes for a planet to complete one orbit around the Sun.

Semi-major axis

The longest diameter of an ellipse, half of its maximum width.

Elliptical Orbit

An orbit shaped like an ellipse, with varying distances from the focal points.

Mean Distance from Sun

The average distance of a planet from the sun during its orbit.