Orrery
A moon orbits a planet, while a planet orbits a star, such as the Sun. The movement of a moon is typically influenced by the gravitational pull of its parent planet, leading to a more elliptical and faster orbit compared to the planet's orbit around the star. Additionally, moons can have varied orbital characteristics, including synchronous rotation, where they show the same face to the planet, unlike planets that generally do not exhibit such behavior in relation to their star. Overall, moons' movements are more closely tied to their planets' gravitational influence, while planets follow a broader orbital path around a star.
Newton's work on orbits built upon Kepler's laws by providing a theoretical explanation for why planets follow elliptical paths around the Sun. Newton's laws of motion and law of universal gravitation helped to show that these elliptical orbits were a consequence of a gravitational force between the planets and the Sun, providing a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanics of planetary motion.
They are closer to the star they circulate around or the other planets and so their centre of gravity is closer, therefore the force is stronger and thus causing their rotation to increase in speed.
Kepler used Brahe's precise astronomical observations to demonstrate that the orbits of planets are elliptical rather than circular. This groundbreaking revelation is encapsulated in his First Law of Planetary Motion, which states that each planet moves in an ellipse with the Sun at one of its two foci. This challenged the long-held belief in circular orbits and laid the foundation for modern celestial mechanics.
Tycho was the first astronomer to make measurements of enough accuracy to show that the older theories were producing errors in the planets' positions. The difference between an ellipse and the old model of a circle and epicycle, which gives a circle with the Sun off-centre, was so small that it needed high accuracy to notice the difference. Planets' orbits have an extremely small difference between the major and minor axes of the ellipses.
Pictures taken from spacecraft or telescopes can show the positions of the planets relative to the sun over time. By observing these images, we can visually see the planets moving in their orbits around the sun, as their positions change in a predictable pattern. This visual evidence supports the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus, where the sun is at the center of our solar system and the planets revolve around it.
A moon orbits a planet, while a planet orbits a star, such as the Sun. The movement of a moon is typically influenced by the gravitational pull of its parent planet, leading to a more elliptical and faster orbit compared to the planet's orbit around the star. Additionally, moons can have varied orbital characteristics, including synchronous rotation, where they show the same face to the planet, unlike planets that generally do not exhibit such behavior in relation to their star. Overall, moons' movements are more closely tied to their planets' gravitational influence, while planets follow a broader orbital path around a star.
Johannes Kepler made significant contributions to the field of physics through his laws of planetary motion, which describe the orbits of planets around the sun. Kepler's laws laid the foundation for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. He also made important contributions to optics and light, studying how lenses work and investigating the properties of vision.
Newton's work on orbits built upon Kepler's laws by providing a theoretical explanation for why planets follow elliptical paths around the Sun. Newton's laws of motion and law of universal gravitation helped to show that these elliptical orbits were a consequence of a gravitational force between the planets and the Sun, providing a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanics of planetary motion.
They are closer to the star they circulate around or the other planets and so their centre of gravity is closer, therefore the force is stronger and thus causing their rotation to increase in speed.
Kepler used Brahe's precise astronomical observations to demonstrate that the orbits of planets are elliptical rather than circular. This groundbreaking revelation is encapsulated in his First Law of Planetary Motion, which states that each planet moves in an ellipse with the Sun at one of its two foci. This challenged the long-held belief in circular orbits and laid the foundation for modern celestial mechanics.
Planetary orbits contribute to the stability of our solar system by maintaining a balance of gravitational forces. The orbits of planets help prevent collisions and disruptions by keeping them in predictable paths around the sun. This stability allows the solar system to function smoothly over long periods of time.
The question is going for the answer "elliptical". But it needs an important comment:Kepler didn't show that the orbits of the planets "are" anything. He had no way to do that.What he showed was the fact that a system of elliptical orbits with the sun at the centerof everything fits the actual observed evidence better than any other proposed model.That didn't prove anything. It only made his model the best, most likely representation ofthe truth, until something better comes along. You might say it was "just a theory".That's how Science works.
Objects are attracted to other objects. now this is much more complex than that but I neither have the technical knowledge or time to truly explain all that. So because particles are attracted to each other the more mass an object has the more it pulls or attracts other objects, we call this force gravity. Objects such as planets that are orbiting other things (typically stars due to their massive size) are in a place where the force of gravity is not allowing them to escape but not entirely pulling them in. Stars (like the Sun) and planets form from fast-swirling clouds of dust. When their force of gravity is great enough, the swirls clump together into a spherical ball. That does not make them stop spinning or stop them from orbiting the Sun. We see that there is very little to make the spinning, orbiting planets slow their spins or orbits.
Isaac Newton.
Newton used the law of universal gravitation to show why the moon orbits the earth and does not take off in a straight line from earth. He also used it to show that Kepler's laws of orbiting bodies is true, that planets orbit the sun in ellipses etc.
Nicholas Copernicus stated that the Earth rotates on an axis and orbits around the Sun. To come about this he used circles moving in an orbit, or circular way, to support his system about Earth and its rotation. He used fixed stars, or "non moving" stars, to show the motion of other planets.